


There Is No Truth

by Reagan_The_First



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Badass Lucy, Emotional Damage, F/M, Fairy tail au, Mature Natsu, Secret Pasts, Slow Burn, This one's gonna sting, Zodiac Spirits, celestial magic, new girl in town
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:07:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24732847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reagan_The_First/pseuds/Reagan_The_First
Summary: Lucy was blessed with beautiful magic and that is precisely why she was chosen. Chosen to be more than a mere Mage. Gifted with the rare power of the Cosmos she was harvested for a greater purpose. War was on the horizon, and Lucy was forced into grueling training and experiments to become the greatest Celestial Spirit Mage Earthland had ever known.But, what will happen when she is set loose on Fiore? Will the woman trained to summon armies, doom her people to war? Or will Fairy Tail prove more useful than a simple, destructive guild?
Relationships: Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser, Jellal Fernandes/Erza Scarlet, Levy McGarden/Gajeel Redfox, Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia
Comments: 67
Kudos: 146





	1. The Twin Casters

It was true anguish, like the last eight times she had contracted the Zodiacs. Her magic was rejected from her body and swirled around her in wisps of golden light, it was beautiful and hideous. 

Lucy took another painful step forward, the shield of magic that surrounded the Eclipse Gate was a brutal testimony to her weaknesses. It was as if it knew Lucy’s intentions and worked against her. She didn’t blame it, what she was doing was unjustified and angered the Spirit Realm, but she couldn’t stop 

A cry escaped her as she pushed herself forward. The air was heavy around her, thick with magic and her breathing slowed. Lucy’s head ached from the weight of the shield as she was forced downward. The ground crumbled beneath her as she succumbed to the magical pressure on her shoulders. 

She was guilty, Lucy hated when she forced herself into the Realm but she couldn’t afford not to. The scars on her back reminded her of her failures, the mistake of thinking she had any control. 

A stone grazed her cheek as she strained herself to rise from the ground. The Gate was never kind to her, it threw shards of rock and swirled dust around Lucy to stop her advance. But she continued to push through. 

Lucy huffed, her long hair fell from its bun and whipped around her face. It was larger than Lucy remembered, looming over the crowd of onlooking soldiers. Printed in golds and greens, with highlights of blue. The Eclipse Gate was kept in immaculate condition though it’s age preceded those of ancient times.

The clock-like pattern always confused Lucy. Twelve spokes that led into the middle where a sun was depicted, bright in contrast to the eerie and dark decor. Everything was shadowed in green, the doors’ intricate designs, the pillars from the floor to the ceiling of the cave. 

No one knew the origins of the Gate and there was little history to explain why it was forged from Celestial and black magic. The Gate’s magic was inky and shadowy, it served as a way to enter new worlds but little was explored outside the Spirit Realm. 

Lucy forced herself to take another step and with it came relief. Her ears popped as they were relieved of the immense pressure and she almost fell to the floor with the new lack of gravity that had been crushing her. It was euphoric before she realized the worst was yet to come. 

Her arms and legs had deep gashes from the thrown rocks and the magic that cut her. Her hair was askew but she was focused. Adrenaline rushed through her as she went to move forward. 

She had difficulty staying up, swaying without the constant gravity that had barreled down on her. With every step Lucy’s senses enhanced, she felt each particle of air as she walked. Her ears picked up on every breath taken by the guards that surrounded the Eclipse Gate, ready to kill her if she so much as blinked wrong. She could smell the fear, and she tasted the tension. 

“You know what to do, Four,” said Darton the Minister of Defense in Fiore. He hummed at her display. And she stiffened, his presence never boded well for her. She took strangled breaths to calm herself. Her fingers shook as she hauled herself forward, muscles struggling against her efforts. 

The barrier was to keep Lucy out, but the doors to the Spirit Realm were not opened as easily. She had to rip through her dimension to get to another, it was always the most difficult challenge. Lucy’s magic against the laws of her known universe.

The pain started immediately, it was sharp and searing but manageable. Her magic power climbed, it increased and fluctuated as she grew closer. Spark of light flung from her in tendrils and whipped the air dangerously. 

The wall she had to pass through was like stone when Lucy put her hands on it, cool and affirming. It was sturdy and she was fragile, but determined. 

Lucy hissed when her knuckles came away bloody from the sickening punch she delt. Lucy always underestimated how strong the fabric of reality could be. She focused the magic she had left and punched again. The wall rippled from where her hits connected, but it hardly wavered under her attempt. 

Each summon before had grown in its level of excruciating withdrawals, her first time contracting a Spirit had begun with a purging of herself. The “wickedness” in her soul had been cast away by Celestial Divinity. The process had been nearly effortless, as though the spirit had wanted to be trapped under Lucy’s dominion. 

But the second time she summoned from the Eclipse Gate had been horrifying. It left the girl’s body in tatters, scars still ran over her skin from the experience that took place years prior.

She ground her feet into the stone floor and shoved her body into the wall. With another punch, a crack slithered up the barrier. She screamed in anguish as she shoved her arm through, shards of magic sliced up her forearm. The magic that had been gathering in her body was pulsating, desperate to tear from her.

The barrier wavered for a moment, Lucy’s magic power overwhelming the force before it held fast as she punched her second arm through. She gripped from the inside, pulling at the seams. 

A crack opened as Lucy shoved her knee into the wall. Her body fell through with a miserable cry. Gasps of air filled her lungs, the light had drowned immediately and the large scape was silent and black. 

Her body was riddled with slices, and her prior energy was extinguished with her magic power. 

“Give me strength,” She murmured to herself, lifting her heavy head to look at the glowing spoke of the Eclipse Gate. She recognized the meaning, the spirit she was being forced to conjure, the last of the Zodiac; Gemini. 

There was very little known about the Zodiac, their gates had been sealed away centuries before Lucy was ever born. They seemed to be fiction over reality, legends from the past, and nothing more. Though the myths were real, and Lucy knew it. 

She gathered herself as her Spirits pushed against her magic from the Spirit Realm, they silently reassured the blonde as she stood in pain. 

“Open the heavens,” Lucy began, pulling herself from the cold stone steps. She fixed her shoulders strongly, “allow thee to survey your grace,” the words flew from her tongue without restraint. She had worked against the ritual in the past, but her efforts were in vain. What magic she had left flew around her in golden sparks as the ground rumbled ominously. 

“Show thee thy divine subject, and let thee suffer in thy light,” her arms outstretched before her, resting with open palms aimed at the harsh shadowed ceiling of the cave. Blood coated her white suit, shreds garnered its sleeves and pants. She took steps towards the Eclipse Gate and her body gave off waves of her Spirit’s power as she drew closer. The pain she had felt was nonexistent in the euphoria that the Gate provided for her. 

“Permit thee thine aspect, favor thy commitment, and grant thee the stars.” A ringing filled her ears as magic leaked from every pore of the place. Lucy lifted her gaze to the sparking doors as her body began to faze from reality. Assimilating to the Spirit Realm. 

Light exploded from her, and with the flash, she was gone. 

There was a moment of silence as the blonde vanished. Darton watched the guards that coasted the perimeter of the Eclipse Gate fret, hair singed by the powerful display. Their weapons were drawn toward the now absent mage, knowing when the girl returned there was a possibility that the Eclipse Gate may open. 

He chuckled to himself as he waited. 

“That makes eleven, I believe,” 

Darton was pulled from his concentration as the king walked close to him. Examining the blood that led fatefully to the place where Lucy had been moments prior. 

The old men nodded to the another. “Give or take,” Darton said, his fingers slowly counting out the Zodiacs that had been contracted. “We are getting closer to our goal.” 

The king clicked his tongue, flashing a smile at his right-hand man. “I pray we have not drawn this girl too thin,” he knew that it was for the good of Hisui and Fiore, but he never liked watching the girls experience such pain and misery. 

“You would be surprised what this young woman may endure.” He said, following his gaze down with steady assurance. 

  
  


Lucy shuddered as she drifted into consciousness. Her dark amber eyes absorbed the setting. The scene was crystal clear, like she had been blind for her entire life and had just gained the ability to see. It had been different each summon, the constellation of the Spirit she had called was unique. 

“You are impressive,” called a voice that mimicked itself, as if said twice.

The forms of Gemini danced together. Columns of blue led towards the dark sky, giving way to a roofless pavilion exposing countless stars. Perfection circled around them, gold lacing with light blue and contrasted by blood-red curtains. Lucy always wished she could see past them. 

They resembled small dolls, both held differences in apparel. Gemini floated peacefully in front of her, one had the expression of a sewn smile, while the other a frown. She recalled when Two had begun summoning through the Way of the Art before she began Blood Summoning, she had met with Gemini, as well as the Zodiacs, Aries, and Scorpio. 

“They said you would be.” One chimed, a smile illuminated her face.

“And they said you would come.” The other said in sync, his dancing followed his sister’s without falter.

Lucy remained silent. Her breathing was slow and labored, she clutched her arms in an attempt to regain a calm mind. 

“They told us not to be afraid.” They echoed, their voices soothing Lucy as she gathered herself. 

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” Lucy dusted off her arms and legs. A tingling was sent through her body, it reminded her of her injuries. The Spirit Realm was always kind to her, offering to heal her when her body was harm by the Eclipse’s trials. “If you’ve spoken to the other Zodiac Spirits you must know why I'm here?”

The stars began twisting outside the pavilion. “We are content with our fate.” They sounded distant yet they spoke into Lucy’s very soul. 

“I want you to understand what our contract would mean, Gemini.” Lucy began before the Spirits floated closer to her. Their eyes examined her. 

“We have conversed with the others, we know of the treacheries that you would be subjected to if not for your success. We do not wish that upon you, summoner.” Her first summoning had gone nothing akin to this. She had had little idea what to expect from the gate, and the first time she attempted to break through its barrier she had nearly assimilated. “You have sacrificed much to enter the Spirit Realm,” They continued, “Your body has taken the toll of your contracts.”

Lucy sighed, she understood the contracts she held with her Zodiac Spirits were unconventional, at best. Their magic was bound together because of the absence of their keys. “I'm aware, unfortunately.”

The small blue forms danced again at her. “Aquarius has warned us against agreeing.” She said, her smile quirked as she floated above her brother. 

Lucy sighed, closing her eyes in defeat. 

“But your other Spirits trust you unconditionally. May we trust you, Lucy?” He asked, gliding back and forth from her. 

“I’ll have to prove it in the future, but I won’t do you any harm,” she had rehearsed a more appropriate and accomplished speech but could barely muster out what she did. 

The longer she stayed in the Spirit World, the worse condition she would be in once returning to her reality, though she flourished in the fact that her injuries were healed by the world.

“I wish that we could have met under different circumstances Gemini, I never wanted to force you or your friends into contacts with me.” 

“There is no reason to apologize,” Lucy was startled when her gaze was met by an image of herself. Blonde curls falling down her shoulders clumsily, the normally pristine white leather suit wrinkled and stained with red. There were bags under her eyes and her skin was pale. “We know you, Lucy. We understand your purpose.” Lucy watched as Gemini’s perfect replica of her puffed into a plume of smoke before the two figures appeared once again. 

“We trust you,” Mini smiled.

“We will be your champions,” Gemi frowned, characteristically. 

Lucy smiled before depression tugged at her lips. “I can’t be a good summoner to you, I want you to know that before you agree to contract with me.” She never wanted to make the same decision again.

“Your kindness is all we hope for.” They resolved. 

“Well, aren’t you both just the nicest Spirits I know,” She laughed, guilt still chewing away at her. “We should probably start the contracting now, I can feel my body starting to assimilate,” she was answered with a resounding yes.

Lucy’s heart spun for a moment before it silenced and everything stopped. The constellations that had been previously circling the pavilion halted, the Twin Casters froze. The air grew thick with magic power as the mage began her ritual. 

“The eyes of the stars abide by thy’s rules,” She began, her head turned upwards, hands lay flat, palms aimed towards the roofless sky once more. “Thy’s rules are under my jurisdiction,” The chant began to fill the atmosphere, turning the dark sky to lavender and gold. 

Magic swirled around the pavilion. “I shall gain possession of this star, thy’s constellation may be granted to thee,” Gemini turned golden as Lucy’s eyes aureated with brilliance. 

Her incantation filled with magic power, she could feel herself loosening her grip on sanity. “Tetrabiblos has granted thee the aspect of perfection,” Her voice commanded every living thing, the Celestial Realm wavering under her control. 

“I summon Gemini.” she chanted the powerful verse as she clapped her hand in front of her and split the sky. The blue broke to pieces.

Lucy was left on the stage of the Eclipse Gate, she fell to her knees, pain slashed through her back as payment for her disrespect to the Spirit King. She collided harshly with the solid floor. She saw only the faces of charging guards as her eyes fell to sleep. 

  
  


“As I said, it was fine. Four lived.” Darton spoke slowly, meeting with the troubled king after the ritual had taken place. 

“The fact that you expected her not to is the problem. You know what happened to the first girl, you do not need another accident like that.” His white brows creased in disapproval, standing solemnly outside Lucy’s cell. 

“Karen Lilica was a mistake that I will not make again. These girls,” The minister cast his gaze to the blonde, she lay strewn on her bed. Body mangle and chained in precaution. Within the first few times of the girls summoned a Zodiac Spirit the two had realized the dangers of having beings as powerful as the three girls unsupervised and unrestrained. “They are much stronger.” He finished.

“If you are certain…” Toma sighed as he looked at the young girl, her reckless beauty dangerous beyond any measure. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, old readers and new readers alike! What a pleasure it is to be before the public eye once again. I must say, it has been a long time. Too long, but with that time came good things. Like the umph-spaw to revisit this story and start from… pretty much scratch.   
> Now, I must say, this story has a lot of arcs that are very similar to unabridged Fairy Tail. But do not worry, TINT will have a variety of new adventures in due time. Of course, all credit goes to Hiro Mashima for characters, plot, and Fairy Tail.   
> I can’t say much about the future, but I will mention that I want to have a fairly consistent uploading schedule. But, until the world stops its nonsense, I am very busy. So, until further notice, I will upload once a month, on the 15th! In the future, I may get into a more frequent schedule, but between fulltime work and college, it’s a little hard to prioritize TINT.   
> But, that is all I can say, for now, thank you for reading There Is No Truth. I appreciate any feedback and accept criticism (even if I don’t want to hear it!).


	2. Heartfelt War

Lucy’s frail body fell onto the pristine white tiles that lined the floor of her cell. She bit her lip as pain shot through her body, her muscles tensed with the effort it took to straighten herself from the floor. 

The guards laughed. Their armored shoulders shook as they glared pitifully at Lucy, stony eyes belittling her. She came to understand their hatred for her and the other two was something more profound than a simple guard-prisoner dynamic. They loathed her power, being chosen by the stars. 

She rose from the ground, her legs shook with the effort that it took. Her gaze was drawn from the guards to the drops of blood that puddled on the cool tiles. She brought a shaky hand to her nose and wiped at the blood that dripped. 

“Take a shower, star freak,” one of the guards spat. Spittle caught on his bushy stache above his lip. “You look disgusting.”

The white of her fitted suit was obscured with patches of dust and flecks of sharp stone thrown by the Eclipse Gate. There were tears that ran up and down her legs, uncovered gashes tinged with pain. Lucy almost smiled at the warm memory of the Spirit Realm, the kindness of its presence on her skin when she was healed. 

“I usually do,” Lucy mumbled and she dabbed her finger at her ear. She grimaced at the blood that she saw when she pulled her hand back. It happened every time she entered the Eclipse Gate. She would rip through the universe to enter anew and there had always been a physical toll on her body. 

Lucy flinched as the first guard banged against one of the electric bars of her cell. 

He sneered at her. “We’ve taught her about talking back, haven’t we?” He turned his attention to the female guard beside him. 

She leaned on her spear as she glared at the blonde Spirit Mage. “Maybe she’s forgotten,” the guard suggested with a shrug. 

Lucy opened her mouth to apologize, flashes of the open wounds on her back, and the bruises decorating her skin polluted her mind. Darton never stopped the abuse, and Lucy just became accustomed to it. Her guards could be set off by the smallest things, and before she could dissolve the situation they sneered at her. 

The woman looked to her right as she tapped a sequence onto the lacroma attached to Lucy’s cell. There was a blinking that occurred across all the bars and cuffs around her appendages. She had no time to react as shocks burned over her skin. 

Screams of pain burned up her throat as her magic canceling restraints electrocuted her. The suit around her wrists, neck, and ankles burned away with the shock of her cuffs. She was cursed, and they told her she deserved it for what Spirit mages had done. But she couldn’t recognize their personal hatred.

Lucy whimpered when the shocking stopped, collapsing further in her cell, leaving the sight of the guards to quell their aggression. 

“Remember this the next time you decide to talk back, cursed bitch.” He said and spat at her. 

Lucy heaved harshly. She took no comfort in the cold floor. Her skin was raw from the abuse and Lucy’s wild eyes searched for any indication that the guards would come back. 

They never did. Lucy was left shivering on the ground for hours, her limbs too heavy with the day’s efforts to attempt to stand. She crawled eventually, hissing with the resistance her muscle gave, but Lucy forced herself into the translucent shower stall. 

Lucy shook her head as she felt Gemini attempt to appear. They asked her permission to be summoned, to be with Lucy but she could only reject their attempts. 

“It’s not worth it,” She said in a low whisper. “It won’t work, not with these.” Lucy brought the braces on her wrists up, flinching at the exposed flesh. 

Her eyes blurrily scanned the walls surrounding her. Her cell was held within a larger room, floor to ceiling windowless walls, covered in runes and magical symbols. Binding spells, power-consuming sigils, and markings that ensured Lucy could not rebel within the room, covered the pale walls. 

The electric blue bars almost comforted Lucy, they designated her space and could be seen through. Over the years, Lucy had grown thankful that she could see out of her cell, though the confined room was eerie and silent, she was never taken by surprise. At night she was watched. Not for her safety, but for that of the experiment. Lucy could sense the shift from night to day, see phantom starlight even dozens of feet underground. 

She laid on the floor until her mind grew restless. 

Lucy did as ordered, she stood and entered the shower. The foggy glass served as a barrier as the cold water pelted her pale skin. Her burns screamed under the assault of the water. Lucy grew tired of the painful sensations that greeted her daily like an old lover. A tear rolled down her cheek, the soap from her arms grazing her wound and radiated a singeing sting. 

Shivers ran down the blonde’s body as she stepped out into the room. Her body dried naturally over time, the luxury of a towel too much for the members of the experiment. 

Lucy hardly remembered anything about her life before being forced down into the Abyss Place under Fiore’s Light Castle, but she could recall a few of the simple pleasantries. Her mouth watered at the thought of food other than pork and rice, the remembrance of a pillow almost escaped her. She sighed, Two and Three were taken at younger ages than she was. 

Two and Three were sisters. Lucy found herself jealous of their beauty often, as well as their bonds with one another, but neither of those things mattered where they lived. 

When Lucy had arrived she was a child, ten or eleven at the time. Her magical abilities had just begun to bloom and her mother’s death was a very recent wound. Though Lucy couldn’t recall who her mother was, or even who she was, after a few years matching golden hair and long sleepless nights of stargazing were left for the wind to sweep away. 

Tight leather gripped against Lucy’s skin as she dressed. Each day after she had trained for hours with either Two or Three, or God forbid the guards, Lucy would be forced through the same schedule. A shower, three times a week she would be given a fresh set of clothes, food would be provided by the guards. After her dinner Lucy would often daydream, she imagined life above ground, the heat of the sun, and the simplest kiss from the breeze. 

Summoning Gemini had exhausted Lucy. She didn’t resist the urge to sleep as she laid on her cot. Her eyes fluttered shut as her Spirits wished her a peaceful rest. 

  
  


Her punch was slow to connect and Libra took advantage of the hesitance in Lucy’s muscles to strike. The blonde was thrown back, movements delayed much to her dismay. 

She had been expecting to be healed enough to handle herself against Three and her two Spirits, but it was more of a challenge than she would like to admit. Her joints ached with overuse, with every hit she felt her determination slowly leave her. 

The splitting headache that threatened to cripple her was the hardest to deal with, she decided as another attack from Libra caught her shoulder. 

Lucy hissed in pain as she was forced to the floor by Libra’s gravity magic, the rock splintering under her. She gulped for air and pressed a hand to her ribs, applying pressure to the pain that refused to subside. She knew she wasn’t ready for battle but she was expected to manifest Gemini, whether or not she was capable from the day prior. 

“Capricorn-” she ground out through gritted teeth, “help me!”

The weight that barreled down on her shoulders seemed to instantly cease as her Spirit incapacitated Libra for a short time. 

“Let me help you, my lady,” he said and bowed to lift her from the floor. 

She clutched his offered hand and stood shakily, steadying her breathing. It had been a while since she had trained against Three. Most of her days were spent studying lately, or in the arena with Two. 

With a huff, Lucy straightened and shot a small smile to Capricorn as he took a respectful step from her. “Thank you, that was... uncomfortably,” she laughed. 

The Goat Spirit nodded in good nature. “But of course, my la-”

Lucy stumbled back as Capricorn was devoured by the darker of the two fish. She didn’t recover as quickly as she had hoped to and rolled out of the way of the white fish. 

It appeared Three was back in business after dealing with Capricorn, Lucy noted as she watched Libra return to her feet from her peripheral. Capricorn disappeared in a shower of gold as Lucy scrambled to her feet. 

The roar of mother Pisces pierced the air as Lucy ran from her gaped maw ready to consume her as well. She skidded to a stop, narrowly avoiding her opponent as the fish clamped down on air. She took a calming breath before beginning. 

Lucy wound her hands in a circle in front of her and brought her wrists together, resting one atop the other. She couldn’t afford to look weak in front of Darton, it could prove to be disastrous for her, so she evened her stance and drew magic from the space around her. 

Both aspects of Pisces spiraled menacingly in the space above their master, and Three stood in the middle before she sent them toward Lucy again. 

She couldn’t focus on the twin fish that raced toward her as wind picked up around her, swirling and collecting as glitter materialized and rained around her. The air was thick, vibrating with magic as Lucy snapped her eyes open. Particles exploded into flecks of gold as she extended two fingers. 

The space between her palms shined in a dizzying golden light as Lucy ripped her wrists apart. 

Pisces was thrown back as Taurus stood protectively over her. He heaved in a breath and readied himself for battle. The two fish recovered quicker than Lucy had hoped as they raced toward her again. 

“Taurus, you know what to do,” she said, still clutching her side. 

Pisces was a powerhouse, and by all means, intimidating, but Libra was what Lucy always worried about. Three and Libra needed no verbal communication like she and her Spirits did, they could practically read one another’s minds. 

Three could summon a fraction of the spirits Lucy could, but she was efficient. Libra and Pisces were more powerful and their abilities more developed than any of Lucy’s Spirits. The blonde was never given the time to focus on a single Spirit at once, she had always been ushered into contact with another once she earned the trust of one. 

Lucy could often overwhelm Three with the amount of summons she could do in a single training session, but some days Three out schemed her. Their training had gotten progressively violent as the years stretched on and the girls could handle more beatings.

The two worked to create unique situations for the other daily, but training became monotonous four years ago. It was a matter of the way Lucy moved her foot two centimeters to the right compared to the day before that made things interesting. 

She dove out of the way as bombs of intense gravity overtook the area around her. Lucy glared at Libra as the Spirit moved her scales, bombarding the blonde with pillars of max gravity. It was nearly impossible to dodge, but years of ruthless exercise had Lucy arcing out of the way of her attacks. 

Light scattered from Lucy’s palms as she pulled them apart in a graceful dance, bowing with four fingers pointed on one hand and five on the other. A circle of dark blue mixed with purple erupted between her fingertips, stars could be seen from every angle, light flowing out of the sphere of space. In a flick of her wrist, a vibrant Gemini laid floating in front of her. 

“Hello, master,” Gemi said with a frown. 

Mini danced alongside him. “How can we be of service to you!” She joyfully asked. 

Lucy’s brown eyes flicked to a heated battle between Taurus and Pisces then back to the miniature figures. She grabbed the small figures by their arms to pull them from another fountain of crushing pressure. 

“Would you be willing to train with me?” She asked tentatively. “I understand that I only contracted with you yesterday-”

“If it is what our master asks, it is what we shall do,” Mini said with a quirk to her smile that seemed unfamiliarly excited. 

Lucy readied herself to thank them but she was abruptly crushed into the dirt by Libra’s successful attack. Flowers were crushed under Lucy as the gravity Spirit upped her force tenfold. She couldn’t stop the distressed cry that left her as she opened her eyes to find Gemini, but they were gone. 

Without warning, the gravity field disappeared and Lucy took a few seconds to lift herself from the ground and stop the pain radiating with every movement. In a billowing flash of purple and gold sparks, Gemini took the form of Lucy.

When her eyes focused she saw the clone of herself appear suddenly and launch a kick to Libra’s back, sending her to the ground before she was gone in a puff of purple clouds. 

Libra quickly changed her target under Three’s command. She attempted to trap the second Lucy but she danced illusively to and fro. 

Lucy noted Taurus land an affirmed blow on Pisces, sending the son fish to the edge of the grassy arena, Lucy noted. Her heightened sense failed her though, as a punch to her side sent her careening. 

Three had no look of triumph or pleasure on her beautiful features as she advanced on Lucy, but she could see the hesitance. The two exchanged savage punches, Lucy clipping Three’s cheek but earning a slip lip in the process. 

She ducked under another lightning fist and swept Three’s legs from under her. The silver head slammed to the ground but didn’t waste time and bucked Lucy in the stomach. The kick stole her breath for a moment as she crashed to the ground a few feet away. 

Lucy fumbled to her feet and assumed a fighting position after a few moments but was knocked down again as her cloned form of Gemini landed on her. 

“Sorry master,” she said as she rubbed her head. It was eerie to Lucy, to see and hear herself without being in front of a mirror. 

Lucy quickly sent Taurus home with an apology as he was struck to the floor by Libra. It seemed her odds were not good. Three and her two Spirits were lined up and ready to incapacitate the two Lucy. 

Gemini popped back into their original forms with a tired sigh. Lucy flashed them a rushed but thankful, small. 

“Thank you for your help,” she said as she sent them home and returned to her feet. 

The day’s events caught up to her as she moved slowly back to put distance between the three and herself. Her punishment wouldn’t be pretty if her performance was subpar. With a deep breath, she forced herself to summon another. 

Light fluttered around Scorpio, who didn’t seem to need instruction as he appeared. Whipping their opponents into a sick sandstorm immediately. Lucy stayed behind him protectively, wishing never to have to deal with the other side of his attacks. 

He threw them and mercilessly tossing them in the air before he smacked them back onto the arena floor. 

“You’re all good, Lucy!” He said as the wind swirled to a stop after his finish. 

She peeked from around him, Libra laid strewn, defeated. The combination of Gemini’s close combat hits and Scorpio’s savage spell was too much for her. Mother Pisces had narrowly avoided the onslaught as they hovered in the air, Three standing atop their head. 

Lucy flinched as the water snake flew in the air towards her before they were sucked by the storm once again. She sighed indignantly as she hid behind Scorpio so she wouldn’t get caught up as well. 

“Sorry, Aquarius,” Lucy said and licked her finger to summon her last Spirit. 

The Water Bearer appeared just as Scorpio halted his attack. Libra and son Pisces vanished with a few words from a dazed Three, but mother Pisces seemed to recover, however inconvenient it was for Lucy. Lucy released Scorpio after he finished his assault. 

It took no time for Aquarius to jump on her opportunity to rant. 

“What the hell did I tell you about summoning me with your  _ spit _ ?” The Water Bearer hissed. She was poised sassily, silver urn positioned on her hip. The mermaid’s blue tail swiped at Lucy. 

“I know, but,” she dodged out of the way, “today’s activities really didn’t give me much to work with.” 

“That’s not an excuse, you pathetic runt!” 

Lucy apologized again, she was accustomed to the verbal beatings when the scorpion Spirit wasn’t present. The blonde turned to eye the massive water snake that swam through the air towards the two. It was a vain attempt to take out her strongest Spirit before she could decimate the battlefield. 

“Uhm, Aquarius?” She murmured and pointed to the oncoming problem. 

The Spirit stopped her shouting, her head turned menacingly towards the Pisces. “How dare you interrupt me.” She hissed at Lucy but directed her attention to the water snake. 

Her urn filled the area with water she under her command. With a flick of her wrist, a wave forced the two fish further back to where Three was desperately attempting not to get washed away. 

“As I was saying,” Aquarius curled her fingers and water rose from the pool, it spun and swirled, shooting droplets toward the three on the opposite end of she and Lucy. 

“Do not ever,” the droplets shot like bullets into them, grazing Three but their force pummeled the two fish. “Summon me from your filthy mouth,” she leaned in close to her master’s face and settled Lucy with a deadly sneer. The aquatic tornado split into two with a snap of Aquarius’ fingers and drove themselves into Pisces. “Again.” 

Lucy nodded vigorously as she backed up from her friend and most powerful spirit. “Yes, of course!”

With a puff, the two fish disappeared and left only their summoner to fall into the water. 

“I’ll be going now,” Aquarius said nonchalantly, following her fellow Zodiac to the Spirit Realm while examining her nails. 

The water disappeared, puffs of cloudy smoke and stardust took its place as it evaporated. Lucy rushed to Three’s side as she spotted the injuries that riddled her friend’s body and ignored her own. 

“Are you alright?” She clasped her hand and helped return Three to her feet. 

Three shook her head, her somewhat matted silvery hair waved with the movement. “I am fine,” she said as she stood. “Thank you, Lu- Four.” Three glanced at the guards around the arena and seemed to wait for the punishment of her slip up. 

Lucy brushed off her gratefulness and ignored the swelling guilt that threatened to tear up her eyes. 

When Lucy had been younger she, Two, and Three were celled near one another. It made the three less fussy when it came to bathing, sleeping, and being entertained. They hadn’t trained with each other, but they grew close. 

As children, the guards held less disparage for the girls’ magic. They would sing with one another from their different cells, tell each other stories, and create tales of beautiful wizards and mages who lived outside in the sun. Lucy and Three would fall asleep to Two’s dream of flight. She yearned to reach the clouds and touch the sky she could hardly remember. 

When they had been too naive to understand the consequences, two and three shared their story with Lucy. She learned that they had been taken from a small village when their magic manifested on Three’s birthday. They exchanged their names, and often Lucy would refer to Two as Sorano and Three as Yukino. 

Lucy had taken those days for granted. The guards would never hurt a child, but as they grew into their teens the rules seemed to change and so did the guards. 

But as they grew, calling each other by their birth names was frowned upon and slowly the guards became more violent. They would be beaten, shocked, or whipped if they slipped up or talked back. Anger and hatred fueled their actions, it was foreign but still directed that them. They were regarded as less than human the more they grew, and Lucy learned it quickly. 

Sorano dealt with the abuse before Lucy and Yukino came of age, she grew bitter and reserved and was moved away from the two girls before they could understand what had transpired. 

When Lucy got older she began to understand the number that was given to her served two purposes, she was the fourth subject in the experiment, and as an apathetic solution. She learned that her number served to dehumanize her to the leaders and enforcers of the experiment, and granted them the apathy to abuse her and her friends. She was treated like a wild dog instead of being treated like a human.

“Four!” Three shouted, she pushed Lucy away from her and dropped to the ground. 

Lucy watched as a ball of fire barreled through where she and Three had been and collided with the magic barrier around the arena. Lucy jumped from her spot as the ball flew toward her. She rolled to a stop, her eyes caught Three as she evaded the fireball, she dodged and ducked as it came near her. 

Lucy’s ears perked as she heard a sound all too familiar to her. A boulder greeted Lucy as she turned, it's height three times the size of her. She cursed as the obstacles began, and summoned another spirit. 

With the graceful pull of her hands, a portal opened. 

Calmly, a young woman stepped out. Her hair, a blossoming orchid with eyes just as deep a blue, but lighter than Two’s. 

“What may I help you with, princess?” Virgo asked with a bow, the chains after her wrists clattered with the movement. 

Lucy rolled her eyes at the nickname and gestured to the massive stone that rolled behind Virgo. She promptly turned to face her challenge. 

“Ah, I see,” Virgo said as she took a relaxed stance. “A punishment. Thank you, princess,”

“No!” Lucy dragged a hand down her face. “Get rid of the boulder, please!” 

She inched back as the rock rolled closer. 

“If that is what you wish,” Virgo said. The spirit grounded herself, she shifted her shoes into the earth. 

She gracefully entered a new stance. Aligning her hands, one atop the other, and laid in wait for the stone.

The boulder gained speed as the floor shifted. Lucy struggled to remain on her feet as the ground angled. Before Lucy could fall Virgo ground her feet shallowly into the earth, keeping the blonde stationery. 

The boulder shattered as it hit Virgo’s palms, throwing shrapnel around the arena with the force of the impact. Dust rose as pebbles rained, Lucy stood safely beside her Spirit as rock cascaded around them. Virgo ruled the element of Earth, Lucy reminded herself as she watched the dust settle. 

Three stood poised with Libra, who had suspended the rocks in the air before they dropped to the floor. Lucy watched as Three spoke to her Spirit and, unceremoniously, the arena was returned horizontal, and the three non-earth elementals teetered at the abrupt change. 

The two Celestial wizards worked for hours with each other, they trained with their spirits and formed teams to extinguish obstacles that blighted them. They were separated after some time in training, their strong bodies worked to near faint. After each session they always apologized to one another for the hurt they caused, this time was no different. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Three,” Lucy said tiredly, attempting to wave but the cuffs snapped around her wrists prevented her. 

“Yes,” Three smiled and nodded. “I will see you then.”

They were separated without much of a thought of their audience. 

“A few more months, and then we shall send them off.” Toma hummed to his accomplice. 

They watched as Lucy and Three were removed from the vast arena and led to the exits where they disappeared to their respective cages. Toma stared at the doorway that had taken Lucy, his mind swirled with thoughts and plans. 

“Do you believe that they are ready for that?” The old man countered, his hunched form leaned against the railing of the balcony. 

Toma looked thoughtful. “After their performance today I do believe that Four is where we need her to be while Three needs more confidence in her own abilities.” The king offered as he scratched his chin. He felt sympathy for the girls, his own daughter one of them. Though, he’d never admit he thought the girls deserved their freedom after the pain his advisor put them through. 

Darton glanced at his friend and questioned. “And what do you make of Two? She is far more dangerous than Three and Four.”

“Two is strong but has little resilience. She does not seem to understand the cost of the magic you have given her.”

“It will be risky, but I think that sending her to our original choice is still our best option.”

“I see, I suppose after the Grand Magic Games this summer we will confirm where they will be sent?” Toma stated rather than asked, his plan brewed out loud. 

Darton nodded slowly. “I suppose so.” He said and pushed away from the rail and the thoughtful king, leaving the Abyss Palace. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, what a pleasure it was to present the new chapter to you! I hope you all enjoyed it and that it “read” correctly. When I wrote this I had trouble with it and I’ve read it through so many times it sounds like gibberish to me.  
> But either way, I appreciate everyone that has supported the new story! It has been really fun to write so far! I’d like to address something that would have gradually come out over the course of the story but may have confused some of you reading.  
> On the last chapter, LordJaric pointed out the seemingly unnecessary abuse of Lucy. I would just like to clear up that it is indeed something that will be reoccurring for Lucy going forward. Celestial Spirit Mages are not your typical mage, and in the future, you will find out why!  
> I also wanted to give a big thank you to ErinWantToWrite for showing their support on the last chapter and commenting!  
> Thank you so much again, and I’m excited for you all to see what happens in the future! See you next time!


	3. Comfort in the Lost

Lucy continued to train daily to the heart’s content of those who owned her. Her hands bruised and scarred from the effort and magic it took to constantly summon through no other means that her own willpower. 

She and Three began to separate from one another, time in the arena slowly began to focus on personal capabilities and not what Three and Lucy could do as a team. 

Days and nights went by like ocean waves, one after another. The three girls were forced to continue their training until the months preceding the Grand Magic Games, though they had little knowledge of the significance. Lucy and Three’s normal training schedule began changing, an absence of Twobecoming absent more frequently until she disappeared altogether. 

Weeks blended to months and Two hadn’t been seen by Lucy or Three. She had disappeared from their schedules and Three was furious. 

Long hours were spent in the training room, screams of pain and anger sounded through the halls when Three refused to train until she saw her sister. Her requests were never answered, though. She was merely prompted to fight Lucy or the training obstacles of the day, and if she refused she was met by a violent outburst from the guards. Their violence grew with Three’s rebellion. 

Her requests fell on deaf ears, all except Lucy’s, who desperately wished to help her only friends. Though, Lucy was never disobedient when in the arena. She wouldn’t scream and shout, never cry out for Two but she yearned for an answer. 

Lucy feared the worst. Two’s dangerous and expensive Blood Summoning had exhausted her to the point of death, it didn’t sound unreasonable considering how little medical help the girls got. Lucy also worried the guards had done something to her, and she felt more unsafe as the days blended on. 

Lucy’s trust in those that had held her captive for years had slowly diminished. She had no one else to rely on but Two and Three. They frequently ensured Lucy and the other two had social interaction with each other, the guards, and from time to time, they even trained with the Hungry Wolf Knights, those who guarded and protected the Abyss Palace. Lucy had made friends, but Two and Three didn’t seem to share her ambition.

As time went on Lucy started to notice that her sessions with Three dwindles like a flickering candle. 

“I don’t know what they did to her,” Yukino cried and fell to her knees. “But I fear they will do the same to me soon.”

Lucy sat in front of her and placed an assuring hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Don’t say that,” she ignored the shouts of the guards that tried to get them to keep moving. “We’ll be fine.”

“You don’t know that, we don’t know what happened to Sorano. For all we know, she could be-”

“Yukino, stop.” She shook her shoulders lightly. “We shouldn’t assume the worst, Sorano is strong,” she said and lifted her friend’s chin up to look at her, “and so are you. She wouldn’t want you to worry yourself,”

“Hey!” A guard yelled as he entered the arena after his attempts to get the girls’ attention. “Stand up and hold your wrists out.”

“Don’t don’t try any funny business, you know the drill.”

They did, and they were given no room to fight against the guards as they latched the collars around their necks. The initial shock of the connection made it hard to breathe for a few seconds before Lucy was forced to her hands and knees. 

They were led away from one another after their hands were bound with magic restraints. 

Three and Lucy exchanged glances as they were shoved out of the arena’s shield. Lucy smiled reassuringly but Three didn’t respond with one of her own, she merely nodded and followed the guards. 

As Lucy’s days in captivity moved onward her own isolation increased. 

Without warning Three was taken from her. There was no trace, not like Two. Three didn’t slowly peter out until she disappeared. Three went away abruptly and Lucy was left alone. 

She made it hard for herself at first. She would throw herself onto the arena floor and endure whatever she was expected to fight for training. She would struggle with the guards, fight against them, demand to know what happened to the only things that kept her sane for years. 

Lucy wanted to know how they thought they could get away with taking her only friends, the only people she trusted, her sisters. But there was never any explanation. No one told her why they were just gone one day. 

After excruciatingly long months of agony and depressing loneliness, Lucy gave up trying to rip an answer from anyone. 

She fought the obstacles put in front of her because that was the only thing she could do. She stopped demanding the guards tell her where Yukino and Sorano went and accepted that she was the only one left. 

All the attention was put on her. She trained and tested herself, and even met a few guards that didn’t insult her and threaten her with harm every time she breathed too loudly. They gave her paper to write on and books to read. They taught her about the outside, Fiore and her customs. 

The emptiness that had grown in her had begun to fill with culture and traditions. A love for writing bloomed in Lucy, she understood the words she wrote, the images she could create, the worlds that she could infect into someone’s mind with mere letters. It was a fascination. 

Her new guard friends read with her, treated her kindly, and edited her work. 

She trained hard and developed a new style of magic arts. She fought defensively and tried to burden her Spirits less with obstacles that she could handle herself. 

But one day she understood where her friends had gone. 

“Lucy,”

Flare’s scorching red hair stood out against the bland guard uniform. Her alarmingly alert eyes held none of the friendliness Lucy had come to recognize in Flare. 

“Flare, what’s up?” She got up from her cot and walked to the front of her cell. “Is something wrong?”

Another woman entered the room holding Lucy’s cell, with a deep frown.

“Absolutely nothing, my dear,” Ikaruga said, her voice dripped with disgust as her words told another story. Ikaruga was one of her old guards but she hardly looked after Lucy once Flare took her place. 

She never savagely brutalized Lucy but she had never been kind to her either. Not that Lucy expected anyone in the forsaken place she had been subjected to over half her life, would treat her with kindness, but Flare was an exception. 

She truly spent time with Lucy and looked after her. 

“You’re being taken to see the master,” Ikaruga activated her restraints and the shielded cell walls fell. The shocking blue that illuminated the space was taken over by a dim light. 

Lucy had only met with who the guards refer to as the “master” a few times. When she had first arrived she’d been assessed by him and looked after for a few months until her magic started to sprout. Other times he had come to examine the fights between Lucy, Two, and Three. 

As Ikaruga began to walk toward Lucy, Flare blocked her. 

“I got this one,” she said, her back to Lucy, much more trust than anyone else had given her besides Two and Three. 

Ikaruga scoffed and turned. “Fine,” she shot the last bit over her shoulder as she walked out. “But don’t be late, we’re waiting on you.”

As soon as she was gone Flare turned to Lucy. 

“Why am I going to see Darton?” Lucy said, but another question popped into her head. “Is what happened to Yukino and Sorano going to happen to me?”

Never before had Flare answered a question that pertained to her friends. She was forced to keep quiet, the other two women were not points of conversation among the guards and prisoners. But Flare lowered her head and sighed. 

“I can’t really say, blondie,” she adjusted the cuffs on Lucy’s wrists and loosened the buckle at her neck. “But nothing bad’ll happen as long as you don’t make a scene, got it?”

Lucy nodded and let Flare guide her out of her cell room. The direction she had meticulously mapped out in her head failed her as she was led the opposite direction Flare took her. They walked down halls and suspiciously untouched caves. 

At the end of a natural part of the cavern, Lucy could see a light. Torches hung on either wall where four guards stood poised. There were large vases of fire that lit the magnificent doors, standing at the climax of the hall. They were edged and decorated with ancient symbols and magical patterns. Painted red with deep browns as accents to the crimson.

Lucy could sense the door, but was nothing like the Eclipse Gate. Where the Gate was warm and inviting, these doors echoed her future back at her. 

Flare didn’t say a word as they entered the room, the guards opened the door right for her. 

Lucy’s eyes climbed over every detail of the space. Pillars led to the ceiling, acting as fane support. On the walls of the jauntingly chiseled room hung paintings of who Lucy could only guess was royalty, given away by their crowns and authoritative glares. 

At the head of the room sat a large throne, atop it an old, small man examined Lucy as she walked in. To his right, Darton stood to his disappointing height, Lucy noted his smug expression. Next to the master Ikaruga frowned at the two and tapped her foot. Guards were placed every few feet as the man on the throne sat protected. 

Once at the front of the room and just before the steps leading up to the throne where the man sat, Flare bowed and moved away to stand beside Ikaruga. Lucy was bright, and she knew that Flare had given her a signal to follow. 

_ Don’t make a scene.  _ Lucy bowed low. 

She heard a grumble. “So this is the final girl,” 

She lifted herself and watched the man examine her with kind eyes. She flicked her gaze to Flare, who winked encouragingly. 

“Yes, the one with the most promise. I do believe she is ready.” Darton said back. His voice bounced around in the space. 

The man Lucy assumed was the king, hummed. “What is your name, miss?”

Lucy hesitated a moment and looked back to Flare, Ikaruga glared at her harshly. “My name is Four,”

The king sighed in exasperation. “No, no. Your real name.”

She was confused for a moment before she answered. “Uh, Lucy,” the word foreign on her tongue.

He smiled. “Lucy, that fits you better than any number.” He seemed to wave off the very idea of her being called Four for as long as she could remember. “It is a pleasure to finally come face to face with such a legend. I’m King Toma of Fiore, but you can call me anything you like.” His kindness was odd, it seemed finicky like he thought it was misplaced. “Now, miss Lucy, I have a deal for you.”

She held no trust in him and her suspicion lingered in the air between them. Toma laughed at her distrusting attitude. 

“Have no fear, it is in your best interest to hear what I have to offer.”

Lucy readjusted and fiddled with her hands, hesitant. “Go on, then.”

The man hopped off the seat and paced on his little stage. “I cannot tell you all the details until I am sure that you are capable of accomplishing the job, but first, I must apologize for the pain you have endured on our behalf.” 

Lucy by no means saw this as a way to forget the suffering she went through but she did find herself appreciating the apology of the old man. She nodded her head in approval and he continued.

“In order to place my trust in you, I need you to prove yourself to me, miss Lucy. And, as I understand, the task I will give you is that of a near impossibility. But I will ask you to give it your all, for the fate of Fiore.”

“The fate of Fiore?” Lucy questioned, incredulously. She didn’t speak much nor voice her opinions, but the lenient attitude of Toma seemed to loosen her tongue. There was a sudden weight on her shoulders, expectations and hopes were to be carried by her all at once.

“Yes, child.” He said solemnly, his head was hung but Lucy could still make out his small smile, she didn’t know if it was directed at her or at something she couldn’t begin to understand. “Now, I ask of you to present all that you have learned in your years of training.” 

Lucy’s brows furrowed in confusion, the room seemed to close in on her. As if everyone knew what was going to happen, except for her. Her anxiety boosted the pit in her stomach seeming to swallow every ounce of confidence she had as the man turned to her. His eyes were heavy with the expectations he had placed upon her. 

“Summon three of your Spirits.”

Lucy nearly laughed. “Are you joking?” She had never thought of performing such a feat. 

Summoning three Spirits at a time could be equated to draining all of Lucy’s magic power and a single moment. It wouldn’t just send her into magic withdrawals but Lucy would put her Spirits in a dangerous situation. If she compromised herself, her Spirits would be just as vulnerable.

“I would not joke about a matter such as this.” He was stern as he spoke as if losing patience with Lucy as her worrying continued. 

“I don’t think I can do what you’re asking me to.” 

He turned to Lucy, his features distorted in anger. “You must!”

She took a step back from him. She had fought many individuals, her friends, her own Spirits, and the guards that surround her. But not many had chosen to speak to her as he had. It was anger, but it was not directed towards her. 

Much like when he had been smiling, there was no distinct placement, certainly not at her but also nothing held in the room. The emotions that he chose to present were not for her, but something else entirely. Something she knew she was going to be responsible for. 

A sense of obligation rested in her stomach as she shot a glance at Flare, who gave her a prompting smile, it was uncharacteristic, but Lucy appreciated it. “I’ll do the best that I can.”

Toma nodded and took his seat, no doubt expecting a show. 

She concentrated as magic flew through the air. The golden dust and sparks of her summoning began, the communication between her and her Spirits laid heavily in the air. Light swirled around her as crackled lightning engulfed the space. She was nervous but the sheer effort of Lucy’s task forced her forward. 

There was a weightless feeling as Lucy circled her arms outward like the hands of a clock, before stopping them perpendicular to the rest of her body. With a fierce clap, the spinning energy stopped. Guards sat at the ready, spears and swords held defensively. 

She said silently in the middle of the room, hands clasped before her and eyes shut with focus. Her expression slowly whittled to a painful scowl. Magic continued to breathe in and out of her, and a weight settled atop everyone like extra gravity.

Lucy ground her teeth as she spoke to each of her Spirits and they all told her the same thing: she was incapable of the task that she had been given. Though, Virgo slowly appeared. Lucy winced as her whole apparition entered Earthland’s realm. Virgo’s orchid hair was whipped by the storm of gold surrounding the blonde summoner. 

Lucy felt Cancer fight against her as she slowly opened his door as well. He silently urged her not to summon him, but she knew she couldn’t disappoint. She understood the consequences of failure. she grimaced at the thought of her punishments in the past. 

Cancer appeared much quicker than Virgo, but he assimilated from Earthland to the Spirit Realm as Lucy kept going. 

Sweat beaded down her forehead, and she nearly choked as her magic left her body. Breathing raggedly, she asked Sagittarius to appear before her as well. 

For a hopeful moment, Lucy believed the third gate opened. But as soon as it did, it slammed shut and took Virgo and Cancer with it.

Lucy fell to the ground in agony, her skin charred with the burns of overuse. She heaved onto the floor but nothing came from her stomach. A cough ran ragged through her body as the withdrawals began. 

Flare lunged to Lucy, she could hear the man walk close to her. She put a hand to her forehead and it burned beneath her already fiery fingers. Her skin was cool in comparison to Lucy’s sickly fever. 

“You’re burning up,” she said with concern Lucy knew was genuine.

“Step away from it,” Darton’s familiar voice called, as he emerged from the line of guards. Lucy’s blurry eyes focused on the elder. His wrinkled face was downturned in a frown, and she could guess why. Flare took her place beside Ikaruga, the woman scowled at her in disgust. 

Lucy forced herself to her feet. Every muscle in her body protesting as she fell to her knees unceremoniously seconds later. With a strangled huff she pushed herself from the floor and cried out in pain as her head throbbed with her low reservoir of magic. 

“That’s enough Lucy, you may remain on your knees,” the king said, with no disapproval in his tone. 

She thanked him and steadied herself with a few deep breaths. Darton let out an aggregated huff. 

“Your majesty,” he said, impatience lingered as though he was waiting for something to happen. “Shouldn’t we get on with this, there is no time to waste.”

Lucy stood still and wished the pain away as she peered at the small man before her. She knew bowing to royalty was customary, and that is why Flare had instructed her to do so, but Lucy had imagined the king to be quite different from a man of such short stature. 

“I suppose you are right, Darton,” Toma turned his attention back to Lucy. “Child, I would prefer our partnership to be built on mutual trust and understanding, not fear. So, to preface, until approximately a year ago I had no knowledge of the Celestial Experiment.” 

Lucy looked to Flare then to Darton, slightly surprised. He seemed sheepish, as though he knew the truth but had no interest in accepting it. He was the Minister of Defense, sat next to Toma, the right hand of the king, the king who had learned of Lucy and her sister’s existence less than twelve months before. 

It sounded convenient, but Lucy could remember the change of attitude about a year prior. There was less fighting and for the most part, Lucy’s guard treated her like a human. 

“I was, by no means, a part of the founding and I believe it was wrong and truly tragic to have taken you from your home and subjected you to such cruelty. We will help in any way we can to give you the life you want, but with a price.”

“What sort of price?” Her voice was weak as she spoke but still suspicious. 

“Well, it is unfortunate news but I must enlighten you to it. For years now Alvarez has been on the front lines threatening to invade Fiore.”

Lucy pondered the geography before their locations clicked. When she was young she had been given a full education before she was trained. Flare had told her the outside world would consider her quite intelligent, which she always took pride in.

She understood that the feud between Fiore and Alvarez was a recent development but it was by no means less dangerous. 

“And even more unfortunate, Fiore’s Rune Knights are not soldiers. Policemen, yes. But, I’m afraid fighting a war is out of their capabilities.”

“How do you expect to win a war without any soldiers?” Lucy asked, curious. She could already sense the hand she was expected to play in this war. 

“You are how,” Darton said. 

He walked to the map on the wall and gestured for Lucy to follow. Flare helped her walk and Toma made his way as well. Lucy and Flare suppress laughs as they watch Darton struggle to point to the location. With a real chuckle, Toma handed him his cane. 

“This is-”

“Hargeon, a port town with a larger focus on fishing rather than magic,” Lucy interrupted. Flare giggled beside her and Toma smiled, but Darton looked less than pleased at her explanation. “Sorry,” she mumbled quickly after. 

“Yes, Four,” Darton moves the cane’s tip across the map. Lucy marveled at the craftsmanship momentarily before narrowing her eyes on Alvarez. It laid on the edge of Alakitasia, northwest of Fiore. “Alvarez has secured an army about the size of Hargeon. Enough soldiers to spread evenly through Fiore.”

Lucy looked to Flare. Her features were grim with worry but she flashed Lucy a signature smirk and nodded hopefully. “How do you know all this?”

“There is someone inside the Alvarez high court that has allied with Fiore, they feed up information and we trust their sources,” Darton explained. 

“But because of the war between the State and Magic societies twenty years ago, there is no trust between wizards and the royal family.” The king said. “Since then, we have accumulated a third of the army that we used to have, and no hope to fight in a war of such high prestige.” 

“Slowly, the threat of Alvarez grew and when Princess Hisui’s magic manifested we knew that Celestial Wizards could be the answer, your kind holds the ability to summon an army of your own. So we sought you out and-”

“Stole you,” Toma interrupted. 

Darton sighed. “There were contingencies with each child, but you were given in exchange for something your previous owner requested.”

Lucy recoiled in shock. She was disturbed by the new revelation, and each time she thought it over more seemed to be revealed about the life she had beforehand. 

When she had arrived at the experiment, she was taught by classes and exercises that replaced thoughts of her previous life. She’d been brainwashed to believe the seven years she’d lived outside was nothing more than a forgettable memory. 

Lucy questioned what could have been so important as to give up a child. Two and Three had taught her the importance of life and childhood, so they stuck together like sisters. They never treated each other as anything less than family, even during sparring, they looked out for the other. 

Lucy didn’t remember much from before the Underground and her grueling training, but she wondered if she had always been an object. Something to manipulate or use. Darton’s words painted her as something to be owned and not raised. But the kind eyes that only dared show themselves in her dreams did not seem like the sort to expend the innocence of a child. 

“Blondie?” Flare’s small voice shook her out of spiraled thoughts. “You still with us?” 

Darton had continued to talk, Lucy noticed, and she worried what she’d missed. “Yeah, I’m- I’m fine, thanks,” 

Flare looked at her for a long moment but returned her attention to the small man at the front. 

“Guilds now operate under state policies instead of government policies. Which, unfortunately, means there is no obligation for service time and has generally depleted the military to its current embarrassing state.” Darton continued and pointed to a few towns on the map. 

“This also means guilds are not likely to provide help to the government in the case of war. Only a few might lend their services if paid properly,”

“But with an upcoming war, funds are not easy to come by,” Lucy said. 

Toma blew out a strained breath. “Exactly, miss. are you starting to understand the predicament that we have found ourselves in?” 

Lucy squinted at the map and focused on a town circled in blue, Magnolia. “Sort of, but I don’t really get where I am supposed to come in.”

“Well, if you would let me get to that,” Darton grumbled. “You, along with Two and Three have been assigned to infiltrate a guild of high standing in Fiore.”

“I’m guessing there’s more to it than that?”

“Right you are,” Toma said and took over the conversation. “It’s a bit sneaky and manipulative, but it could help ensure the safety of the country and our people. You’ve been assigned to infiltrate and gain the guild’s trust. If our assumptions are correct, we will have another two summers before Alvarez attacks Fiore, and by then we hope that you have made a functioning friendship between the royal army and your guild.”

Lucy pondered for a moment as she made sense of the new information. “So, by the time Alvarez does attack, we might have a fighting chance?” She didn’t wait for an answer before she asked another question. “Are you sure that forcing partnerships between the guilds and the royal army is a good idea after the Guild War?”

Toma looked far away as he spoke. “It is the best chance we have. Hopefully, these partnerships can also mend the relationship between the royal government and the Wizard community.” He turned his attention to Lucy and peered into her bright eyes. “I know that we are asking a lot out of you, Lucy, but we cannot hope to save Fiore any other way.”

Lucy almost sank to her knees again from the pressure, she internally thanked Flare for her continued support. Weight pooled on her shoulders, the fate of the kingdom and all its people placed on her without any warning. 

She’d been given a role to grow into when she was a child, but she was only then beginning to realize the proportions she had to fill. 

“Your majesty,” a guard kneeled after he entered the hall. “Sir Arcadios has asked for your presence.”

Toma looked at the large clock on the wall and grabbed the cane from Darton. “Oh, the time has gotten away from me again!” He scampered for a moment before he focused on Lucy. “It was a pleasure meeting you, miss. With hope, we shall see each other in the near future.”

The room bowed as the king exited with a company of many of the guards. Lucy didn’t dare glance at Ikaruga as she felt the threat in her glare. 

“Now,” Darton motioned toward Ikaruga and she walked to him with a document that he snatched away. “The details of your freedom are as follows,”

Lucy’s brows furrowed as he read. 

“You will be allotted an allowance every month, enough for the essentials, anything more you will have to find a way to make jewel yourself.” Darton continued to list rules that Lucy had no hope in remembering. “Understood?” 

She nodded, and Flare snickered beside her. Darton sent her a glare and she straightened, in turn, as did Lucy. 

“You will be stationed in Magnolia, in a guild called Fairy Tail.”

Lucy’s face lit up at the mention of the guild. The studies and classes she did had covered the Fairy Tail guild and its presence during the guild war. They had worked with Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale to sustain their territories. Fairy Tail had never involved themselves in the war, which, Lucy thought, was probably why they were an option, to begin with. 

She had been taken by their records of Wizard history and their family-oriented system seemed inviting. Fairy Tail also had one of the largest magic libraries in all of Fiore, and Lucy was suddenly very excited for her mission. 

Darton seemed to notice Lucy’s attention somewhere beside him and he cleared his throat in annoyance. 

“You will infiltrate and learn the guild’s overall personality and the information of the relevant members. Once a month you will report your findings and activities. The jobs you went on, the members that you worked with, political beliefs, magical abilities, and personal information of the wizards, and you will report it all back to us.”

“But personal privacy-”

“Does not matter in this case. If you fail tremendously the information that your reported back will be used as a sort of blackmail against Fairy Tail. Something to convince them to fight with us instead of against us. But I hope it doesn’t come to that, Four.”

So did Lucy. 

“All the mission details are in this folder,” Darton offered it to Lucy. “You will study them until I think you have an intricate understanding and then you will be released. After that, it is up to you whether you succeed or not.”

Lucy’s stomach flipped with excitement as she thought of the outside world. She swore that the sun already warmed her skin and air breezed past her with no real destination. 

“But do know, there will be consequences for any misconduct,” Darton said harshly. “You will not attempt contact with Two or Three. You will stay focused on your task, and no one will know of your motives. This is all to remain an intimate secret until further notice.”

Darton huffed and walked past Lucy and Flare, guards latched onto his sides as he stopped to add one last thing before he left. 

“And I would not try to bale out of your responsibilities, Four. You may not care for the health of Fiore, but I assure you if you fail, Two and Three will be punished fully on your behalf. Stay focused on your mission or I will bring you and your friends back here and subject you to training that you can't hope to imagine until I am satisfied you can complete your task successfully.”

Lucy’s heart sank. She couldn’t try to find them or they would be punished, failure meant punishment, and neglecting her new life meant their demise. Lucy couldn’t stand the thought of Two and Three being hurt because of her, she bit her lip before nodding. 

Darton kept Lucy from fighting back and being submissive for years through Two and a Three. He exploited Lucy’s relationships with them and used the two as a way to punish Lucy. He found that it was more effective than punishing Lucy directly. 

“I won’t fail, sir.” She said. 

“For Two and Three’s sake, I would hope not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the third chapter is live!  
> The tension, the drama, the enlightenment! Gasp, so much juice, I can hardly stand it!  
> Intentions have been revealed, and now we know why Lucy and our girls have been put through what they have. Thank goodness I decided to reveal this in the third chapter because it would have taken me a decade to explain it later. The pacing is better like this, I believe.   
> Well! What do you think? An unexpected twist, or did you totes see this coming? To me, it seems obvious, but I also totally won't the entire plot, so I can't really trick myself. XD  
> Now, I would like to thank Llanen for the comment, I'm excited for you to see how this story progresses. I'm having a ton of fun writing and glad people seem to be enjoying it!  
> I would also like to give a big thank you to Right_hand_boi for showing their support on both chapter one and two! I really appreciate it and hope you stick around, it only gets better from here. ;p  
> Anyway, until next time, I hope you enjoyed, and if you have any criticism or are in dire need to tell me what you think, leave a comment, I really do love seeing everyone's reactions!


	4. A Fateful Meeting

“It’s weird to see you out of your catsuit, blondie,” 

Lucy smiled sheepishly as Flare. She gripped the bag that was slung over her shoulder with maps, journals, and instructions on her new life. The jean shorts that clung to her hips was a new development and as was the blue tee-shirt she had been given to wear. 

“Feels weird, too. Comfortable though, looser,” she followed the group of heavily armed guards intended to lead her to the outside weird. 

It had been years since Lucy had seen as much as the sun, which Darton realized was a problem. She was bound to be sensitive to sunlight, even with everything she could remember being blindingly white. 

Flare had explained to her that she would be traveling primarily at night. Not only because of the sensitivity issue but also because it was Lucy’s natural pattern. When they were all young, Darton found it was easier for Lucy and her sisters to summon at night. There was a brighter connection that was snuffed out when the sun rose. 

She and Flare passed through many halls and eventually entered an elevator. They chatted with each other as the doors opened to reveal a distinguished room much like the one that Lucy had been brought to before. 

“Four,” Darton’s voice called as she walked to the end of the room. 

Large doors that led to the ceiling shrank the small man even more. He snapped his fingers and Ikaruga stepped forward and dropped a bag into her hands. 

“Enclosed are clothing, essentials, and personal information to study. You will have plenty of time to look through it on your trains.” Darton said and Lucy placed the bag over the other shoulder. “Your tickets have been purchased prior to, you will find them in the side pocket.”

Lucy kept her mouth shut, nerves jittered under her skin. Just around the corner was freedom or as much freedom as Lucy could ask for. Her stomach was in knots at the thought of being outside, in the open air and under the stars. It was fantastical and freeing. 

She felt for the tickets and examined them as Darton continued. 

“Your first train is in the morning, you will board before the sun comes up and arrive in Margaret within a day. From there, you will arrive at your destination, Hargeon.”

Lucy nodded, Flare gave her arm a quick squeeze and moved to stand beside the rose hair woman glaring daggers at her. 

“And once in Hargeon, what is your objective?”

Lucy narrowed her eyes and answered slowly. “Finding Fairy Tail’s, Lisanna Strauss.”

  
  


Lucy raised her head and immediately covered her eyes with a squeak. 

“Princess, you are awake,” Virgo said as Lucy rose from laying across her lap. Her hand blocked out the sun as Lucy looked around the train cart with tired eyes. 

“Sorry Virgo,” she murmured and straightened herself beside her Spirit. “Why is it so bright?”

Virgo looked from her master to the window that showed scenery whizzing by. Blurs of grass and trees but the sky nearly unmoved by the speed of the train. “The sun, princess,”

“Oh,” Lucy said, her eyes slowly adjusting to the light of day. She squinted as she stretched in her secluded cart. She attempted to look out the window again but squinted through the brightness between her fingers. “It’s brilliant.”

The night before had been dazzling. Lucy summoned Virgo to converse with when she noticed a lack of people. They gazed at the stars waiting for her train, her anxious feelings quelled by the constellations blinking back at her. 

The remainder of the ride was spent in light conversation, Lucy asked questions and Virgo answered. She fetched her maps from the bag above their seats and grimaced at the second train ride, but it appeared to be much shorter than the first. 

A trip from Crocus to Margaret Town and then a short few hours to Hargeon, where her life would truly begin. 

“Would you like to go over the assignment again, princess?” Lucy sighed in exasperation, but she agreed none the less. “By tomorrow we will reach Hargeon, and where do you begin from there?”

“Once in Hargeon, I need to find a restaurant, the 8-Lands?” 

Virgo shook her head. “Punishment is in order,” Lucy groaned. “The 8-Island restaurant, from there-”

“I will meet with Chef Yajima and ask for a temporary job,” Lucy said with a huff, all the traveling made her unbearably nervous. Virgo gestured for her to continue. “Hopefully, I’ll be accepted and start work there for the next week with someone named Lisanna Strauss. And after the job is over, with any luck, Lisanna will take me back to Fairy Tail with her.”

Virgo looked satisfied and rolled up the map. “I suppose that is good enough.”

Lucy fidgeted in her seat as the train continued to rush by the scenery. When Flare had explained it to her, Lisanna seemed like an agreeable and kind person, but there was no way to know for certain if Lisanna was going to be willing to take Lucy back. 

Which was where her work truly began. Lucy was responsible for her decisions the moment she stepped out of the Underground, and she had no intention of going back. The sky was stunning, something she hadn’t seen since she was a child, and the air was refreshing and fragrant of summer flowers. 

She felt guilty for having to manipulate and trick a nice young women into advancing her own agenda, but Lucy refused to imagine her failure. 

Eventually, Virgo returned to the Spirit Realm, and Lucy was left on her own in the train car. She smiled to herself at her new freedom, the ability to summon who she wanted when she wanted, it was different. It seemed wrong at first, but Lucy realized there was no one to punish her for using her magic. 

Something that excited the blonde. She had been instructed not to reveal her Spirits unless absolutely necessary, and Lucy intended to follow those orders. But she also wanted to show her friends the outside world. They deserved their freedom just as much as she did.

Time passed by quickly as Lucy stuck her nose in a book, and wished away the motion sickness. She flicked through the books that were put in each cart, attempting to absorb the modern culture and understand the manners of speaking. 

A magazine called Sorcerer Weekly caught her attention as she skimmed the section. In bold words, the title read “Fairy Tail’s Mirajane Strauss tells her beauty secrets”.

“Strauss, that’s Lisanna’s last name too, isn’t it?” Lucy assumed Mirajane was the one posing on the cover, the physical description that she had been given of Lisanna matched her pretty well. “She must be some sort of relative, a sister, or cousin maybe.”

Lucy flipped through the flimsy pages of the magazine. She looked down at her clothing and then at Mirajane’s. 

“She wears the same clothes as Aquarius and Libra. Am I wearing something weird?” Lucy said and examined herself. “No, Virgo would have said something… probably.”

The train speeded along and Lucy’s eyes adjusted to the light much slower than she would have liked. She had to squint at everything, but it didn’t bother her too much. She was just happy to have some freedom and hoped that Yukino and Sorano were well. 

  
  


“Lucy, would you mind dropping off a black coffee at table six? I need to talk to Yajima,” Lisanna asked as she rounded the bar. 

Lucy smiled at her and nodded. “Of course, I’ll take care of it.” 

Lucy and Lisanna had become the best of friends instantly. The moment that Lucy had walked through the door, Lisanna showed her more kindness than even Yukino had. She reminded Lucy a lot of her, actually. The short, silver hair, the gracious eyes and smile, their similar attitudes, she figured that they would have gotten along. 

The two girls stayed together in a hotel close to the restaurant. Thankfully, Lisanna had offered Lucy a bed after their first day of work together. They were an effective team, and Yajima was very thankful for their willingness to work with one another. 

“Here you are, sir,” Lucy said as she placed the cup down and looked between the man and an old woman. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“No no, we’re fine, thank you, dear,” the woman said with a withered smile.

Lucy returned it and turned back to the bar and frowned. She had only been out from the Underground for a few days, but she knew bad news when she saw it. 

A particular group of customers had become “regulars”, as Lisanna said. They showed up every afternoon that the two girls worked and had become particularly difficult when it came to Lucy. 

On her way back to her station, she decided to clean a table. The busboys would thank her later, but her motives were selfish. She had grabbed a bin and placed the dishes inside and wiped down the surface, taking an extra-long time to complete the task. 

It only gave her a few minutes of peace, but she would take it. Her skirt was too short for her liking around those men, as was her neckline. 

She loathed having to deal with them, but she didn’t want to wait for Lisanna to come out to help her. It was embarrassing enough to have to remain composed when three men catcalled women within the store. Lucy had come to realize that not everyone was capable of kindness like Lisanna and Yukino. 

But just as Lucy passed the short doors that led to behind the bar, Lisanna emerged from the kitchen. 

“That was quick,” she said as she pushed the tub of dishes into a hole with a large sign that said “Sink”.

Lisanna wiped her hands down on the apron on her skirt. “Yeah, I just had to run something by him. Hey,” she changed the subject and pointed to the men. “Those are them, right? Want me to handle it?”

“You don’t have to do that,” Lucy said even though she hoped Lisanna would.

“Nonsense,” she grabbed the notebook from her apron pocket and the pencil from behind her ear. “I’ve got ‘em. Besides, it looks like,” she paused and the door chimed off, “there are some customers waiting to be seated.” 

She threw Lucy a wink and walked down the bar. Lucy heard her begin their usual sayings when addressing customers and she walked to the women that took a seat in a far booth. 

“Good morning, ladies,” 

She said and the conversation started. They exchanged ‘hello’s and ‘how are you’s and Lucy took their orders. 

Simple, Lucy thought as she walked back behind the bar and pinned the order on the cook’s window. She patted the wall to get his attention and he grunted at her. Lucy returned with some waters on a tray and filled their coffees. She said the usual, that their meals were on their way, and the ladies thanked her. 

Lisanna seemed enthralled in a conversation with another bar attendant and Lucy wiped down the surface quickly. She waited for the women’s meals to be out quickly since the stare of one of the “regulars” was practically burning through her. 

She did her rounds, offering customers refills of coffee, and took additional orders. Generally distracted herself from the men. Eventually, the two meals were done and Lucy gratefully placed them on a serving tray and flashed the chef a smile, but he merely sneered in return. 

Lucy balanced the tray on her palm easily and decided to take the straight path behind the bar. She passed by nice customers who moved slightly for her and the tray. And Lucy breathed a sigh of relief as the men made no movement. 

But she couldn’t help it as the tray of hot food flew into the face of the man with a hand up her skirt. 

Lucy screamed and backed away from him, her stomach rolling in violation. She had gotten the attention of the whole dining hall, unfortunately, and jumped again as she bumped into someone. 

“Out.” Lisanna said to the three. Her ordering tablet was crumpled in her tight grip. “Get out before I call the Rune Knights.” 

They mocked her for a moment, but Lisanna moved in front of Lucy and pointed to the door. 

Yajima came hurried to the hall to see the commotion. He took in the atmosphere of the room and the obvious discomfort of his employees at the men sitting and standing at his bar. He ordered them to leave and not show their faces again. 

And they did so, with nothing more than a snicker and a wave to Lucy as they passed. 

Lucy spoke up as the door chimed that they were gone. “I’ll clean this up,” she said hesitantly, uncomfortable with the attention of the patrons. There was a familiar sting behind her eyes and Lucy bit down on her lip to keep from crying. 

Yajima waved her off. “You will do no such thing. Lisanna, take her to the restroom and help clean her up, would you?”

She nodded and whisked Lucy away as her temporary boss asked for a few of the busboys to clean the mess. She was emotional but refused to let the stressed tears spill in front of Lisanna.

The silver head brushed away a few stray pieces of food as she grumbled to herself. “Stupid pervs, Mira always said that if you aren’t careful they’ll find a way!” She licked her thumb and swiped ketchup from Lucy’s cheek. 

She hadn’t had much time to process her new friendship, but Lucy knew Lisanna was motherly. The jut in her hip and the wrinkle between her brows told Lucy that the woman had fawned over others many times before. She was thankful for it, the worrying attention helped to diminish her ravaged state.

Lucy pushed away her worrying hands as they grew slightly aggressive. “Lisanna, I’m okay.”

“Hardly! If I ever get my hands on him he is going to pop like a weasel!” 

She laughed and accepted the finishing touches to Lisanna’s satisfaction. “Do weasels really pop?” 

“It’s an expression,” she explained but Lucy cocked her head in confusion. “Well, weasels don't literally pop. But in a figurative sense, he is the weasel and I’m going to-” she pretended to strangle the air by the neck. “Pop him,”

Lucy laughed at Lisanna’s murderous intent, it didn’t match the kind and caring woman she knew, but Lucy wasn’t at all surprised about it either. She couldn’t remember a time where she had laughed without restraint. Freedom was different than she expected, there was more weight, more possibilities to screw things up, but Lucy was just enjoying her time being somewhat normal. The little things brought her joy.

Lucy squeezed her hand and gave her a smile. “Thank you, Lisanna.”

The silver mage smiled back. "Don’t mention it, what are friends for?” Lucy stopped herself from answering in a literal sense. “We gotta look after each other, Lu. I watch your back, you watch mine?”

“Uhm sure, it’s gonna be hard to work that way though,” Lucy understood that culture was lost on her, there were many things that she would not know until she experienced it herself. But she knew that Lisanna couldn't mean she would stare at her back all day.

Lisanna helped Lucy up from the bench. “It means that we gotta protect each other, look out for one another.” She dusted off her own dress and Lucy did the same. “Keep the creeps away?”

She nodded. “Always,”

“And forever,” Lisanna said before she brightened. “Pinky promise?” 

Lucy didn’t understand until Lisanna put her hand out. Lisanna’s patience was a thing of wonder. Lucy did the same with her hand and said. “Pinky promise,”

“Perfect! Now then, time to get back on the floor.” She gave Lucy a once over. “I’m sure Yajima is waiting for us. Are you sure you are all right?”

Lucy nodded. “Yeah, I’m good.”

And they resumed their work. The two of them were a carefree team, they seemed to cheer each other up. For the remainder of the day, they weaved and skipped between tables while serving customers. By the end of it, Lucy and Lisanna had closed fast, both excited to watch a movie on the projection lacroma at the hotel. 

Lisanna raised the collar of her jacket to avert the wind. “Oh my goodness, Chef was in such a bad mood today!” She said from the side of her mouth. 

“I know! He was growling like a mad dog all day,” Lucy said and hugged her coat closer to her. 

They laughed as they walked, reminiscing. 

It was still summer, but a cold had settled over Hargeon. Winds had picked up and storms frequently poured rain at random intervals in the afternoon. Lisanna had told Lucy that Hargeon was beautiful when the sun was out, the beach was one of her favorite places in Fiore. 

Lucy felt comfortable, nonetheless. Lisanna wasn’t hostile and except for the few incidents, Lucy was safe. There was nothing to worry about, and the impending doom of Fiore was replaced by her sprouted curiosity. 

But as they neared the hotel Lucy’s easy going-ness disappeared, replaced by suspicion. She looked around the empty streets with a growing frown, as unease began to creep in. 

“Right Luc-” Lisanna stopped as she noticed the stiffness in her friend’s shoulders and grabbed her arm. “What is it?” She whispered. 

“I don’t know,” she hurried, thankful the hotel was in sight. “But something isn’t right.”

Without a thought, Lucy pushed Lisanna and rolled away from the hands trying to grab her. Her eyes widened, it was the same men from before. 

_ Sheesh, they’re persistent! _

“Hello ladies,” said the man that groped her with a slanted smile. His words were slurred but Lucy didn’t think he was drunk. 

Panic rose in Lucy’s throat and she opened her mouth to scream but was cut off as he moved quickly and lunged for Lucy again. He didn’t falter as she dodged his advances. Lucy could guess what he wanted, and so could Lisanna as she grabbed her hand and ran. 

“There’s a Rune Knight’s station down the road if we can get there-”

The other man tackled Lisanna and pulled Lucy down with her. They crashed onto the ground, and the heavy man crushed Lisanna as he landed on her. She let out a cry of pain and struggled to get him off. 

“Get off!” Lisanna shouted. She looked to Lucy just as a kick from the other man sent her flying. Lisanna yelled her name, but she couldn’t get up to help. 

Lucy huffed and pushed herself off the ground. Her cheek was bleeding from the impact and she winced in pain at her bruised ribs as she stood. 

He hit much harder than Yukino, Lucy realized. She moved to summon Taurus but a punch connected harshly with her chest and she staggered back. Panic flooded her and she ducked away from another fistful of pain. 

She had never experienced a truly life-threatening situation before and it clouded her decisions. Lucy looked to Lisanna who had thrown off her own attacker but didn’t seem to be doing any better than she was. 

Lisanna called her again and Lucy focused on her duty. Save Fiore, but to do that, save Lisanna. 

She moved out of the way of another attack and slammed his head into the wall of the nearby alley. He fell and clutched his broken nose, leaving Lucy to rush past him and into the other fight. 

The other man had scratches all over his body, Lisanna making quick work of him with her magic. She picked up speed and he turned, his eyes widened and Lucy hurled her forehead against his nose. He assumed a similar position to his friend. 

“Lisanna, go get the Rune Knights!”

The girl’s eyes frantically looked between the two. “But, I can’t just leave you!” She said, covered in cat-like features, her puffy paws sleek with blood. 

The man Lucy headbutted groaned and got back to his feet. Blood poured from his nose, but he just sniffed and smeared it as he wiped his face. 

Her head throbbed. “I’ll be fine,” Lisanna didn’t seem convinced. “Pinky promise! Now go get help!” She nodded and sprinted toward the station. 

Lucy took a deep breath and turned back to the scene ahead of her. She willed away the pain and walked to the man who hurt Lisanna. She took in his appearance as he spat insults at her. He swung but his moves were dazed. She overpowered him quickly, striking with precision. 

Her Spirits practically screamed at her to help, but she refused. It would be her first time not relying on their support to win. Lucy knew she wasn’t someone to cower along the sidelines, she wanted to fight too. To be strong with her Spirits, she had to prove to herself that she wasn’t just a Celestial mage, but Lucy too. 

She threw him over her shoulder and rolled into a submission. Extending his arm ruthlessly, her legs trapped his body to the ground. With a snap and a scream, Lucy broke his arm, but he wasn’t the opponent she was worried about. 

The man who groped her was a bloody mess. His shirt and hands were covered from his nose breaking against the wall. But he looked hardly fazed by the hit, Lucy guessed it was the adrenaline, it must have been. 

She dodged another blow and exchanged one of her own. It did little to budge the large man, but enough to elicit space between the two. 

He was lazy, his strikes imprecise but hard-hitting, and Lucy learned that the hard way. She had underestimated him with his first set of attacks, taking a damning punch to her shoulder. She grimaced at the thought of waiting tables the following day. Her arm ached, but she didn’t let the injury deter her. 

She barely had time to move out of the way of his fist, and scrambled backward, glaring at his fist which ignited into flames. 

_ Great, he has magic.  _ Lucy wore to herself as she swung her leg high and threw a kick at the advancing man’s head. It burst against his skull and sent him reeling backward, giving her enough time to attack again. 

Their back and forth went by quicker than Lucy had expected, the man fast, even though his body didn’t show it. 

The streets were empty but it gave her plenty of room to move around in as she jumped off the broken armed man and attacked the other that was moving toward her with a flying triangle. 

She blocked his airway with the tight squeeze of her legs as she rained punches to his head. He stumbled with the momentum of her weight and Lucy continued to suffocate him. He backed himself into the wall before bashing her into the one she’d previously knocked him against. 

He slammed her into the wall and yanked her off as her grip faltered, his fire singeing her skin. The man threw her to the ground and retrieved a knife, glaring menacingly down at Lucy. Irritation was splattered like the blood over his features, their fight proving more frustrating than anything.

She deflected another attempt as he swung upward, slicing through the air in front of Lucy. She tripped over bags of trash piled on the sides of the hall. Searching for something to defend herself with and her eyes fell on a rusted garbage can lid. 

Lucy moved quickly, retrieving the lid and using it as a shield to push the man back. 

_ Where the hell is Lisanna! _ She hissed as the blade caught her arm and sliced her open. Fire spread over the ground, incinerating dirt and surrounding Lucy. She stopped herself from summoning Aquarius, knowing that she wasn’t supposed to reveal her magic. 

With a huff of decision, Lucy pushed herself through the fire, chucking the lid at the man. He yelled in pain and grunted as she shoved him against the wall again and the fire flickered out from his hand. 

Lucy grabbed the collar of his shirt and grimaced at the sound of him smacking the wall. She caught the handle of the knife as it fell from his hand with her foot and kicked it into the air, catching it as she backed away from him. 

He pushed off the wall and swung his elbow back in a sluggish attempt to hit Lucy, but she dodged and let his momentum work in her favor. As he spun around to face her, she dragged him down by his collar, her knee savagely connecting with his jaw. 

Lucy breathed raggedly and put the knife in her boot. She looked down at the unconscious man, knowing he would awake soon, and then to his sniveling companion who was desperately trying to crawl away. 

Her hair tumbled from the ribbon that had held it and she tied it around the man she’d just fought. He was beginning to stir, and Lucy preferred not to fight him a second time. Her cheek was stiff from dried blood and her muscles stood rebelliously stationary as she tried to move.

“Lucy!” Lisanna called from down the street as she finished with the other man’s hands. “Lucy! Oh my goodness, are you okay?” She enveloped her in a messy hug. 

“Yes, yes, I’m fine, just a couple cuts and bruises. Nothing to worry about.” Lucy said and gave a little spin even though her ribs were killing her. And so was her hands from all the punching, and her head hurt pretty bad too. 

The adrenalin from the fight began to wear off and pain flooded Lucy as she fretted over Lisanna’s injuries. Her hands shook from the experience as the realization settled in, the danger of the situation made her victory bittersweet. 

A group of extravagantly dressed people rushed to the scene, the Rune Knights, Lucy presumed. The obvious leader split the group into teams to assess the area and deal with the culprits as he walked toward Lucy and Lisanna. 

“Hello miss, I’m assuming you’re Lucy?”

  
  


“Mira, calm down, really we’re okay,” Lisanna said in an attempt to calm the demon. 

Lucy walked out of the refreshing shower. Her muscles were looser, but she knew the next day of work was going to be hell. 

“What happened!” Mira demanded from the other end of the lacroma. 

“Well,” Lisanna started and waved to Lucy as she exited the bathroom. “Lucy and I have been- uhm, what’s the right word?” 

She thought for a moment before she interjected. “Harassed?”

“Yes, thank you. We’ve been harassed the last few days of work by some men. They seemed pretty harmless at first, but things escalated today.” There was a moment of silence and Lisanna was prompted to continue. “One of them got a bit handsy with Lucy, and apparently they weren’t done with whatever game they were playing and attacked us after our shift.”

Lucy slipped shorts on as she continued, she grabbed the bags of ice from the freezer and handed one to Lisanna as she animatedly recounted the fight. 

“And Lucy was like ‘Go! Get the Rune Knights!’ It was a total hero moment. So, I went to the station and the desk woman was unnecessarily rude, but that doesn’t matter. So, I came back and they were both taken care of. It was incredible, like the ending of the second Mage War or something.”

The three giggled and Lucy held the ice bag to her aching head. “I’m not sure it was that cool,”

Lucy thought it was flattering how much credit Lisanna gave her in her short, abridged story.

“Oh, it was amazing! And then the Captain of the Rune Knights handled the situation, Elfman would have been proud. Ordering around his team, they took care of the guys and he took our reports of what happened.”

Mira seemed distracted from her sister’s injuries and dolled on. “A Captain, you say? Handsome?”

“He was kinda dreamy don’t you think, Lu?” Lisanna said. She kicked her legs as she spoke, chin resting in her hands. 

Lucy snorted and continued to dry her hair with a towel. “He was charming, I guess. Seemed more interested in you than me,”

Mira laughed from the other end of the lacroma. “You don’t say? Maybe you could pay him a visit before you leave, Lis,” she suggested slyly. 

Lisanna’s cheeks flamed a bright pink. “Please, as if he hasn’t seen enough of me this trip. What kind of relationship could I nurture with a man that lives in Hargeon? Plus, I heard him complaining about the paperwork on the way out.” She said with a pout.

Lucy plopped down beside her on the bed. “It has been a long night for everyone,”

She looked into the lacroma and the picture of Mira nodded grimly. “You look like you got the worst of it, Lucy. How are you feeling?”

“I’m doing okay, a little sore though.” She rolled her shoulders. 

“You’ll probably feel like a train hit you in the morning,” Lisanna rolled onto her back. “This is all my fault, I should have known better than to just leave alone what those guys were doing to you.”

Lucy placed a hand on her arm. “No one’s blaming you, Lis, really, how were we supposed to know their intentions?”

“We just,” she sighed, “should have made a report earlier, that was so stupid of me. I’m sorry, Lucy, we could have avoided all of this.” Lisanna apologized, she held a bag of ice against her swollen head. 

Lucy winced but smiled at Lisanna with a busted lip. “Don’t blame yourself, it’s not your fault.” Lisanna looked to Lucy and pouted. “Pinky promise!”

She laughed. “I think you are abusing the power of the pinky promise.”

Lucy waved her off and Lisanna continued to fawn over her and how she saved her life. Lisanna had hugged the life out of Lucy when all was said and done and made sure that Lucy knew how much she appreciated her help and new friendship. 

“So Lucy,” Mira interrupted. “You seem to be quite capable, do you have magic?”

She took a moment to compose herself. “Yeah, I do. I know some light-based magic and a few other spells.”

“I see,” she nodded. “But you didn’t use magic in the fight?”

“No, I prefer not to use magic against other people.” Lucy said, it was an easy way of explaining it, there were ‘magic vegans’ who never hurt others with magic, but it was also true. All her life she hurt her closest friends with magic. “Not if I don’t have to, I mean.”

“From what I saw, she doesn’t even need it!” Lisanna said and threw an arm around Lucy’s shoulder, pulling her into a hug. “She punched and kicked them, and did some crazy ninjitsu on them too! I commend her flexibility. Thanks to Lucy, we got out with a few measly scratches.”

There was a loud sound from the other end of the lacroma. Lucy thought it was a voice but it seemed distorted like it came from far away. Mira rolled her eyes in good nature. 

“It seems someone heard you.” She said and there was a roar in the background. 

Lisanna huffed. “What is he doing at the guild this late? He should be home after the story Elfman told me.”

“You know Natsu,” she laughed. “It’s getting late, how about you tell me all the details when you come home in a few days.”

“Sounds good to us!” Lisanna looked to Lucy who yawned as if drilling in the point. “We’ll talk tomorrow!”

Mira laughed just as, “What do you mean scratches!” came through. 

“Night girls,”

Lisanna smiled and Lucy waved. “Night Mira!”

The lacroma went silent as the picture of Mira disappeared. 

“Who was that,” Lucy asked before clarifying, “the one yelling in the background?”

Lisanna moved her miscellaneous stuff from her side of the bed. “Natsu,” she sighed. “He’s practically my second brother, almost as overprotective as Elfman.”

“What an impressive feat,” she joked. 

Lisanna snorted. “I know, right? Fairy Tail is like a big family, everyone is really close. Natsu and I grew up together.”

Lucy moved the blankets away and got under beside Lisanna. “I didn’t have much of a family growing up. I bet it’s chaotic there,” 

“Oh, you have no idea. We’re a rowdy bunch, that’s for sure.” She said in a faraway tone. “What was it like growing up?”

“Lonely,” Lucy settled on after a long stretch of silence. “It was hard, I didn’t have parents to support me,” she made sure to leave out the countless hours of abuse and training. “But my sisters were always there, whether they liked it or not.”

Lucy could tell Lisanna was smiling, even in the dark. “Yeah, I understand. For a long time, it was just Elfman, Mira, and me. It was,” she sighed. “Difficult, living the way we did. We never spent more than a few days in a village. Well, until Fairy Tail took us in-” Lisanna cut herself off with a shrill scream that had Lucy jumping out of bed.

“What! What is it!” Lucy shouted and scanned the room for intruders. 

Lisanna had thrown herself against the wall and pointed at her pillow. “It’s a,” she started with her shaking hand. “Spider!”

Lucy followed her finger and low and behold, a large spider sat where Lisanna's head had been a few moments ago. She chuckled as she crawled onto the bed. 

“No, Lucy don’t!” Lisanna cringed away as she scooped up the bug, cooing to it softly. “What are you!” She cried in outrage. 

“What do you mean?” Lucy asked as she propped open the window and let the spider crawl out into the night. 

Lisanna flung the blankets off the bed, searching for another. “You just manhandled a giant spider, what is wrong with you!”

Lucy laughed again and washed her hand. “Where I used to live we had spiders everywhere, they just sorta became friends we couldn't get rid of.” 

“They’re not  _ friends, they're _ vampires!”

“Are you getting mosquitos and spiders confused?” Lucy asked as she helped remake the bed to Lisanna’s satisfaction. 

“They are both the spawn of Satan, and we will never speak another word on the subject,” Lisanna said with a huff and glared at her pillow. “Don’t betray me again or I will de-feather you,”

“That goes for you and the pillow, Lucy.” Lisanna threatened and Lucy saluted lazily.

Lucy stopped herself from laughing as she entered the covers. “Yes ma’am,” she snuggled in as Lisanna turned off the lights. 

“Let’s change the subject, you got any good stories?” She asked urgently, trying to distract herself from putting her head where the spider had been. 

She reached into the back of her memory for something but words evaded her tongue. “I’m not really a storyteller.”

“Yeah, I get it. You should hear Cana’s stories, they are incredible. They come to life, you can see them, feel them, it’s amazing. I wish I had her talent, but I’ll try anyway.”

They told one another stories until the early hours of the morning. Lisanna told Lucy about her magic, and how she and Elfman learned it to make Mira feel better. Lucy was animated as she recited the carefree times she had had with Sorano and Yukino. 

They fell asleep happily as the sun rose on another day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another bites the dust, Ladies and Gentlemen!  
> Ahhh! This chapter is huge and I love it so much!! This is the first chapter that I actually wrote, and can I just say how much I love Lisanna’s character! Like, oh my goodness, she is just the cutest! I know that a lot of Nalu supports dislike her just for the sake of their ship, but I think it’s shallow! She is such a good character, and I’m hoping we’ll get to see a lot more of her in the 100 Year Quest.   
> Anyway! Let me know what you think! Did this chapter hit, or miss? I wanted to display Lucy’s misconceptions about the outside world, how she thinks she’s prepared, but she isn’t. Which is going to help her in developing relationships with others that can help her grow. Lisanna is going to be a fundamental character, one that really helps and looks out for Lucy.   
> Now! For my favorite part!  
> Thank you LordJaric for showing your support and giving feedback! I’m glad that you are enjoying the story, it’s just getting started!  
> I’d also like to thank ErinWantsToWrite for your continued support! It means a lot to me that people are continuing to read TINT, even though the updates are so few and far between!  
> Until next time, everyone! Thank you all for reading! And I’ll see you soon!


	5. The Beginning of Something Beautiful

“Thank you girls, for all your help this week!” Yajima said and hugged them both tightly. 

Yajima had asked Lucy and Lisanna if they could stay a few extra days since their presence brought in more customers than usual. They had both graciously agreed and after another four days, the two were saying goodbye to the old man. 

“It was nice working for you,” Lucy said and adjusted the backpack on her shoulders. The weight that had made home there was no longer at the forefront as she stood beside Lisanna. 

The silver-haired mage smiled brightly. “Hopefully we can come back another time, this has been a lot of fun!”

It didn’t take long for Lisanna to gain Lucy’s trust. Her kind smile and generous heart were admirable, and Lucy had come to the conclusion that Lisanna was simply a beautiful soul. 

“Yes, with any luck I’ll see you both soon,” he waved as the girls walked off together. 

Hargeon passed them by as the two chatted. They had decided to go shopping as boutiques continued to grab Lucy’s attention. She persuaded Lisanna to buy a skirt she had been looking at all weekend, and Lucy’s eyes caught on something as she tried on sunglasses. 

The display sign read “Celestial Spirit Keys”, her brows furrowed. Keys? The Zodiacs didn’t need keys to be summoned, or so she had been taught. She ran her finger down a silver one, it seemed to hum under her touch. 

“Nikora,” Lucy said as she examined it and to her surprise, a small figure appeared out of a cloud of smoke. Lucy yelped and tripped back, falling against Lisanna. 

Lisanna hid behind Lucy instinctually. “What is it? What’s wrong?” She said and peeked over her shoulder at the small shivering thing. “What is _that_?”

The shop owner stepped from behind the counter. “It is a Celestial Spirit-”

“Are you sure?” Lucy asked out of concerned confusion and he narrowed his eyes at her. 

“Yes, very valuable, unique. How did you summon him?” He recoiled from Lucy a few steps. He suddenly didn’t seem to like his suspicious new customers and looked between the Spirit and Lucy. 

Lucy shrugged and looked back at the short Spirit. He was adorable, she decided, in a sad puppy kind of way. “I just read his name,” he wobbled toward her and she crouched. 

His sweet attitude was inviting and Lucy put out her hand, she felt her heart swoon as Nikora poked her palm with his nose.

“You touch,” he said as the Spirit nudged against Lucy’s hand. “You buy.”

Lisanna knelt down alongside her and pat Nikora’s head. “He kinda looks like a dog, doesn’t he?”

Lucy laughed. “Yeah, like a little puppy.” She didn’t pay much attention to the man’s sleek business remake. “What about the other key,” she had seen two in the display. “What kind of Spirit are they?” 

There was the slightest bit of pull on her magic as Lucy kept Nikora’s gate open. She didn’t totally understand how the keys connected to her magic, but they were Spirits like her other nine friends. 

The other key’s tag said Horologium, and she didn’t dare say his name. Nikora cuddled in her arms and Lisanna pet his head as the transaction went on. She read the prices and almost gagged, but between what Yajima had paid and what she had gotten when she was sent out, she could afford them. 

“I’ll take both of them,” she said. The clerk’s eyes grew excited and Nikora purred in Lucy’s hold. The shop owner advertised a few more items and Lucy settled on a pouch with a keyring for her new friends. “Also these,” she said and put a pair of sunglasses on the counter. 

Lisanna skipped as they left the store. It was a bright day, sunny, it complimented Lisanna’s happy temperament well. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever met a celestial spirit mage before, I had no idea you were one!”

Lucy smiled sheepishly, the secret out. “Uh, surprise?”

Lisanna bumped her shoulder into Lucy’s. “There’s no reason to be worried, you’re just a rare breed.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lucy adjusted the belt over her skirt, the weight of her new keys comforting and cool against the sunlight. 

“Celestial Spirit mages aren’t really around anymore,” Lisanna put on her matching pair of sunglasses. “After the Mage War, the Golden Keys were scattered and Celestial mages’ contracts were forcefully broken.”

“The Golden Keys?”

“Yeah, the Zodiacs, they belonged to some rich family before they were presumably broken. No one has seen any of the Zodiac Spirits since. How do you not know this, you’re one of them!” Lisanna laughed. 

Lucy tried to piece together the information as they walked. “I had a few Spirits growing up, but our contracts expired when I was young. I haven’t summoned with a key in years,” Lucy tried not to lie. There were fragments of a memory that flooded her mind, a Spirit that would sing her to sleep, but she couldn’t place it. “I guess I was more sheltered than I thought.”

“You’re telling me! Most celestial keys have become commodities or collectibles, not many mages can summon them anymore.” Lisanna turned to her. “It’s super cool that you can, Fairy tail doesn’t have a Celestial wizard,”

“If we’re as rare as you say, I’m not surprised.” She pondered out loud. Darton’s comments about keeping her magic secret were beginning to make more sense. As it stood, Lucy trust Lisanna more and more by the moment. 

She’d learned so much more than she ever thought she could in just a few days, but Lucy supposed, experience was the best teacher. 

Lisanna nodded and parted to let a mother and child through the sidewalk. “Speaking of, what is your plan?”

Lucy unwrapped the muffin that Yajima had given to her as breakfast before she left. “My plan?” She said and skimmed through her options. “I suppose I could keep traveling, pick up odd jobs from place to place.”

“That’ll be hard without a guild affiliation,” Lisanna said and lit up with joy a moment later. “Come join Fairy Tail!” 

Lucy was taken aback by her exclamation. 

“Oh, everyone would love you! You said you like to read, right? You and Levy would get along so well! And Mira already loves you-oh, I’m getting ahead of myself-” she grabbed Lucy’s hand. “What do you think? You could keep traveling and we could take jobs together! Oh, it would be so much fun!” She clapped and looked to Lucy with untethered anticipation. “What do you say!”

It had become so much more than some infiltration to Lucy. Lisanna’s rambling about her family, the jobs, and Magnolia had given Lucy hope. Hope to be more than some unimportant member of an infamous guild. She would accept in a heartbeat, with or without her mission. 

“Yes, yes! I would love to join!” Lucy said, Lisanna’s sheer enthusiasm rubbed off on her. 

Lisanna pulled her into a hug and they made their way to the train station. It all happened very quickly, Lucy agreed and Lisanna was so eager, they got on the first train and were off to the destined Magnolia. 

As they sat down in a familiar booth a shiver went up Lucy’s spine. She listened intently as Lisanna told her more about Fairy Tail and how the job system worked. Lucy looked around as her stomach sank, the feeling of being watched too familiar to brush off. But as Lisanna went on, Lucy returned her attention to the animal mage.

The two girls talked about Lisanna’s life. The boy she was interested in, though she wouldn’t give a name to the face she distinctly described. She told Lucy about Mira and Elfman and fell asleep on Lucy’s shoulder as she described how Natsu had saved her from a giant demon when they were young, and the best restaurants in town. 

She suppressed her laugh as Lisanna snored lightly. The train rattled ahead, the sun peaked in the sky and shown brightly through the cabin window. Lucy shuffled, attempting not to wake Lisanna, and brought out her new Spirits. 

The keys had thrown her off, but Lisanna had prompted Lucy to make contracts with them when they got on the train. Horologium was quite the character, Lucy thought. He was very prim and spoke as though the king were listening. 

They made quick work, and he was bound to her as his Celestial master, but Lucy didn’t like to be called it. She summoned Nikora again, and with a contract, nicknamed him Plue. She and Lisanna had fawned over him as he shook and danced. 

Lucy was surprised to know that the two Spirits knew about her beforehand, apparently, word about Zodiac contracts got around in the Celestial Realm. 

The train came to a drawn-out stop and Lucy shook Lisanna awake. “Hey, Lis, we’re in Magnolia,”

She yawned and stretched. “Aunt Birdalinn’s has the best chicken in all of Fiore, I swear on it,” Lisanna said, finally finishing the conversation the two were having before she fell asleep. 

“That so?” Lucy asked through an amused smile.

Lisanna gave a tired nod and looked out the window. “Mm, yeah. We could get some for lunch on the way to the guild if you want?”

It had been several hours since Lucy had finished her muffin and her stomach growled for food. “If it’s not too much trouble, that would be awesome,” she said, Lucy couldn't wait to learn about Magnolia. 

“Of course not, it will be nice to eat something other than diner food.” She stretched as the passengers of the train were prompted to leave. “Aunt Birdalinn here we come!” Lisanna exclaimed and grabbed Lucy’s hand, dragging her out of the cabin and off the train. 

“To Aunties it is!” Lucy giggled.

They got their food and ate it on the way to Fairy Tail. Lisanna pointed out the landmarks that could help Lucy navigate the extensive town. “And that there,” she said around a bite of chicken, finger pointed to a large and elegant building. “It Kardia Cathedral, we’ve-” she laughed. “We’ve wrecked that place a few times.”

“Huh, looks fine to me,” Lucy said and resisted the urge to ask how they ruined the building. It was exquisite and royal, but a few stones were colored with age while others seemed newly painted. 

Lisanna popped another fry into her mouth. “The city has a pretty large budget when it comes to magical repairs. With an active guild in town, the city and Magic Counsel take over all the official business. Though, Fairy Tail does have to pay a maintenance fee for whatever we break,” she explained. “Usually, there isn’t chaos without a reason, but some members don’t know when to tone it down, it’s part of their charm.” 

The Takeover Mage continued to explain as they walked down the street of Magnolia. She pointed out fruit stands and dress shops that she vowed to take Lucy to in the future. Lucy hopped up on the wall that protected the public from falling into the canal and enjoyed her time with Lisanna. 

“Oh look! Fairy Tail’s coming into view!”

Lucy’s jaw dropped at the magnificent building before her. It was like the pinnacle of Magnolia, the center of the town, the life. It was extravagant, but it felt homey. Like a palace made for a princess. 

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered. 

“I know, right? After the Grand Magic Games a few months ago, we got a major upgrade. Master brought a massive plot of land behind the guild and had a pool and bathhouse built.”

She marveled at the inviting symmetry of the guild. “I don’t think I’ve ever taken a bath before,”

Lisanna patted her chin and pulled Lucy from her stupor. “You’ll have plenty of opportunities. Come on, let’s get inside!”

She pulled Lucy by her hand and pushed open the massive doors. The inside of Fairy Tail was decorated with flags and chandeliers of candles. Sturdy wooden beams spanned from the floor to the ceiling. Directly in front of them were tables and chairs. Lisanna dragged Lucy over to the bar, skipping excitedly to Mira. 

“Hey sis, I’m home, and I brought a special someone,” she sang and hopped onto a barstool. 

Lucy did the same as Mira walked to them. “Well, if it isn’t my two favorite girls. It’s good to see you in the flesh and blood, Lucy,” Her bright eyes looked between the two. 

Mira had an air about her, motherly but Lucy could tell that she wasn’t a pushover. She would need to be more careful with Lisanna’s sister. Mira wasn’t as gullible and naive as her sister.

“It’s nice to finally be able to observe the beauty that is so famed around Fiore.” Lucy joked and brought a smile to Mira’s calm expression. 

She wrote something without looking at the pad of paper in her hand. “How was the trip home?”

“Peaceful,” Lisanna said with a yawn on her lips, “thankfully Lucy has a very comfortable shoulder,”

She snorted. “And Lisanna doesn’t snore too loud so it was manageable.” 

“What!” Lisanna whipped to her. “I don’t snore! Mira, do I snore?”

Mira smiled softly and wiped a rag along the surface of the bar. “I can’t really say, but I can’t think of a reason for Lucy to lie,”

The two giggled as Lisanna denied and tried to explain herself. 

“It doesn’t matter, it was probably just the upright position,” Lucy said as Lisanna gave up defending herself. 

Mira nodded and rustled the top of Lisanna’s head that had fallen onto the countertop. “Or maybe the turbulence of the train, those things can be shaky sometimes.” She winked at Lucy. “So, what brings you to Fairy Tail?”

“Well,” Lucy began, her stomach soured with nervousness. Lisanna had been very accepting, but she didn’t know how tolerant Master Makarov would be. “I actually want to become a member,”

Her eyes brightened. “I was hoping you’d consider it, Lisanna told me she’d been wanting to ask you all week, but didn’t know your affiliation.”

“I didn’t know if you were connected to another guild, and didn’t want to be rude,” Lisanna said as she lifted her head. 

Lucy opened her mouth to respond before a man struggled into the seat on the other side of her. “I’m going to kill him, Mira. That boy is going to singlehandedly run this place into the ground.”

He was short, Lucy noted. White hair, and a face withered with time and experience. Without a request, a drink was placed in front of him. 

“It can’t be that bad, Master. What did he do this time?” Mira asked gently, putting heir conversation on the back burner in the stead of the newcomer. 

He sighed, and Lucy realized he was Fairy Tail’s powerful Master Makarov. She had expected someone… taller. His description matched what she’d been told about him, but his booming presence hadn’t seemed to translate. 

“Practically sunk Hargeon a few hours ago, something about a ship, and a fake. I don’t care, it doesn’t really matter. What does matter though,” Makarov took a long sip. “Is the hundred-thousand jewel fine for the damages.”

Lucy perked up and turned to Lisanna. “Are they talking about Natsu?” She whispered, recognizing the high amounts of damage that seemed to belong to the one and only Salamander.

Lisanna gave an exasperated smile and nodded. “Funny, we must have just missed him, but that’s typical Natsu. He’s one of the ones I was talking about earlier. He never goes halfway, it’s either all or all.”

“You could say that again,” another voice entered the conversation as Makarov continued to rant about the money dues and other disappointments. “The dude’s got no chill,”

The woman was lean and dressed in much less than Lucy was used to seeing. She held a barrel under her arm. 

“Cana,” Mira scolded. “It’s hardly four in the afternoon and what barrel are you on?”

Cana waved her off and filled another wine glass. “Couldn’t tell yah, I just grabbed a few from storage to last me.” Lucy narrowed her eyes at the intense smell of alcohol that wafted by when Cana spoke. “Who’s the new girl?” She asked and narrowed her gaze on Lucy. 

“Master, Cana, please meet Lucy,” she directed the two’s attention to her. Lucy’s stomach pinched with the stares, Cana’s surprisingly sharp. “She’s the woman that saved Lisanna a few nights ago. She came here to join,”

Cana sniffed. “That so? She got the chest of a Fairy Tail girl,” she said and looked Lucy up and down. “I’m Cana,”

“The resident drunk?” Lucy asked and took her extended hand, Cana chuckled at the comment. 

Lisanna smirked at Lucy’s recollection. “You’ve got a good memory,”

“She ain’t wrong, either,” Cana said as she threw back a shot. 

“So this is the famed Lucy,” Makarov moved to face the blonde with the smile of an elder. “We are always happy to accept new members, I’ve heard a lot about you. I must say Lisanna’s recount of your feats the other night sound heroic, thank you for helping Lisanna with the scum that attacked you two, we are eternally grateful.”

Lucy shrugged sheepishly. “There’s no need to say thanks, it was the right thing to do.”

Guilt swarmed her again. It was the right thing to do, Lucy knew that, but were there ulterior motives to the situation? Yes, which is why she still felt that she didn’t deserve the silver head’s kindness. If she hadn’t had a mission, she would have done the same, but it didn’t change the way Lucy felt. 

He seemed to understand and continued. “I’ll just have to ask you a few questions before you can sign the paperwork and get stamped.”

Mira set a drink down in front of Lucy. “It’s just a few background questions, nothing to worry about.”

“Sounds fair enough,” she was shocked by the easy-going atmosphere. Lucy had expected there to be more suspicion and unease, but perhaps that was just from her own insecurities about the whole situation.

Makarov cleared his throat and asked. “Where are you from?” 

Lucy took a steadying breath. She had gone over her answer a hundred times with Virgo. “I’m originally from Crocus, but I’ve been traveling Ishgar for the last few months.”

He nodded. “I see, have you ever been to Magnolia before?”

“No, I was actually on my way here but decided to stay in Hargeon a few extra days for the job I took with Lisanna.”

“You’ll love it here, Lucy,” Lisanna interrupted and leaned on her. “The markets and festivals are so awesome, we’ll have to take you to the blossom festival next year! It’s so beautiful, the streets are filled with leaves and flower petals, and!- Oh, sorry Master,”

Makarov waved off her apology. “It’s fine to be excited, Lisanna.” He said and turned back to Lucy. “How did you hear about Fairy Tail?”

Lucy thought back and urged herself to give an honest answer. “I think the first time I heard of you was in an article in Sorcerer Weekly, there was an interview with Mira, I believe. My dad also mentioned the guild a few times.”

Lucy wasn’t a fan of the backstory she’d been given. A girl from Crocus, the curious daughter of a Rune Knight that left home to explore the world. It felt corny, too good to be true. But it would suffice.

“What kind of magic do you use?”

“I’m a Celestial Spirit Mage, and I also have some light-based abilities.”

Makarov raised a brow when she mentioned her connection to the Spirit Realm, but there was no use in Lucy trying to hide it. “Anything else of note?”

Lucy hummed in thought. “I’ve been classically trained with a whip, among other weapons.” She shouldn’t give too much of herself away, but she couldn’t help her want to be honest.

“Ohh,” Cana said and pressed herself against Lucy’s side. “You’re a kinky one, huh?”

Lucy’s cheeks flushed though she didn’t totally understand the connotation of the statement, she knew that it was an inappropriate innuendo. “No, nothing like that!”

“Well, it’s good to hear you are capable, with or without magic. Now,” Makarov thought deeply for a moment as if coming up with the question at that second. “Why would you like to be a Fairy Tail wizard?”

She thought about the mission, how urgent it was for her to succeed in becoming a member of Fairy Tail. But that wasn’t why she wanted it. Lucy wanted to be around Lisanna and feel the freedom her newfound friendship gave her. She wanted to meet all the people she’d been told about, and see the festivals Magnolia was famous for. 

But, most of all, she wanted a family. 

“Well, I didn’t have much of a family growing up, and Lisanna seemed really excited to give me one. She told me how close everyone is, and how you’re all family to one another no matter what.” She looked out over the guildhall and watched members interact so casually with one another. “And, I want that.”

He seemed pleased with her answer. He nodded and jumped off the barstool. “I will go grab the paperwork,”

Lisanna threw herself over Lucy’s shoulders.“Yay! Congratulations Lucy!” Lisanna said and hugged her. 

Lucy watched Makarov as he headed upstairs. “Wait, that was it? I was expecting-”

“More?” Cana interrupted, smiling as she sipped her wine. “We don’t make a big deal of the whole interview process. There’s really no reason to, especially since Lisanna brought you back.”

Cana and Mira told Lucy about some rules of Fairy Tail and how the guild operates. Mira brought out a map to show Lucy the segments that they could take jobs in, and the territories of the other friendly guilds in Fiore. 

Makarov hobbled down the stair as he skimmed through a few pieces of paper. He set them in front of Lucy and Mira helped to walk her through the process. 

“All there is to do left is sign your name,” she said cheerfully. 

Cana smirked at her. “And your soul is all ours,”

Lucy hesitated as her pen hit the paper. Her fake last name. She felt guilty for all the lies she couldn’t help but tell. And with a quick motion, she scribbled Lucy Ashley and set the pen down. 

“Excellent, now all we need to do it give you your guild mark,” Mira brought out a wooden box. Lucy watched as she opened it and pulled out a pad of white ink and a large stamp. “What color would you like it to be?”

“You can’t just rush her, sis! Lucy has to feel it out!” Lisanna said and protectively swiveled in front of her. Lucy didn’t see the big deal of picking the color. It was going to be blue, she knew for sure, but what shade and where were questions she hadn’t settled on yet. 

Cana snorted and waved her wine glass at the model. “Yeah, I’m with Lis on this, unless Lu already knows what she wants?” Cana barely gave Lucy a second to shake her head before she shrugged Lucy off. “See, hasn’t even decided yet,”

Lucy felt there was something she was missing as Lisanna tugged her arm from off her barstool. She murmured for Lucy to follow her, and the blonde did as she was told with a small wave to Mira. 

She admired the glorious make of the guild as Lisanna pulled her to an opposing wall. It looked weird to Lucy before she realized why, and all the pictures came into focus. The wall was lined with them and Lisanna stood in front with a warm grin. 

“I just wanted to show you our guild.” She explained and placed a hand on a few particularly happy photos of children smiling at the camera. “These are photos that we take every time there is a new guild member, and occasionally, when we lose them. It’s a tradition to see the commitment you’re making before you get your guild mark.”

Lucy stepped forward to admire the countless memories. Most looked like candid pictures, a few even looked like they were drawings from the smears of age over their charcoal. It was intimidating, but heartwarming to see the whole family. 

As she turned to ask Lisanna who everyone was, she noticed the silver head was gone. Lucy spun quickly and saw the girl getting back onto the barstool she’d been sitting in not too long prior.

“A solo journey then,” she whispered to herself. 

Lucy had attracted looks from the members within the guildhall and she felt shy without her socially protective layer of Lisanna. But she turned her attention back to the wall and immediately small things began to catch her attention. 

The introduction of new people in photos and their absence in others. She wondered why the mages left the guild. If it was forceful, consequential, or willing, she would probably never know, but her curiosity was satiated with all the new and old faces. 

There was one person who was more interesting than the others. A boy who had grown up around the other kids in the guild, to which there were many. He looked unusual compared to everyone else that was pictured on the wall. His toothy grin was inviting but Lucy new a dangerous man when she saw one. 

There was something so enticing about his image appearing so consistently among the many photos. The small child seemed to only physically grow while his wonder and tenacity were retained into his adult years. 

Lucy thought the most unusual thing was his hair. She could almost feel how soft it was just from the pictures, it’s life transferable through mere paper. It’s bright pink color was a curveball to her. It made him stand out against the other members, complete their odd teams with a splash of color and liveliness. 

She smiled as her eyes continued to trace over the guild members in the photos before Mira interrupted her.

“That’s Natsu, the boy you heard through the lacroma the other night.” She nodded to his copious grins along the wall. “He’s always been a handful.”

Natsu, it felt right for the rambunctious looking man. His sharp teeth and vibrant eyes pierced her unlike the others in the pictures.

Lucy pondered on Mira’s words before turning to her. “I think I figured out my guild mark,”

“Is that so?” She asked sweetly and motioned for Lucy to follow her. “Well, let’s get you figured out then.” She rummaged around behind the bar that Lisanna had again disappeared from. “Here we are!” Mira said and placed a stamp and pad of ink on the counter. “Now, what would you like?”

The blonde glanced back at the wall then at her hand. “Could I do pink?”

The woman’s smile grew slightly devilish. “Mmm, what shade of pink would you like?”

Lucy couldn’t help the blush that covered her cheeks from the sudden attention. “Like a,” she had to force herself to say it under the scrutiny of Mira. “Dusty rose, sort of pink.”

Mira’s smile widened. “I see, and where?” She dipped the stamp into the inkpad, and Lucy looked over herself before placing her right hand forward. 

“Is the back of my hand okay?” She asked sheepishly. Lucy couldn't say she understood the process of becoming an official wizard, but Mira was graciously patient with her.

She wiped a wet towel over her hand to clean it. “Absolutely!" After swiftly dipping the stamp into the white pad she hovered it over Lucy's hand. "Last chance to back out,” 

Lucy closed her eyes and nodded, excitement and nervousness fought for dominance over her emotions. And with a quick press, Lucy opened her eyes. 

“And, there you go!" Mira said sweetly, clapping her hands together. "You are officially a Fairy Tail wizard,”

She held out her hand and examined the guilt mark. It was certainly unique, and as she looked around the room she noticed matching tattoos were everywhere. She felt connected, through a common mark or because of magic, she didn’t know. But it felt new and exotic to be a piece of a bigger whole. 

“Thank you, Mira, it’s beautiful.” She meant it. There weren’t many things in her life that Lucy could look forward to, but the freedom Fairy Tail would grant her was a step toward her shackle-less dream.

She smiled as she put away the kit. “It’s my pleasure, you’re one of us now, Lucy.”

Lucy looked at her new mark with a happy grin only jumping slightly when someone poked her shoulder. 

“Oh my goodness, I didn’t mean to scare you!” She said. Lucy turned to see a small woman, her blue hair was pulled back by a thick ribbon and glasses that sat low on her nose as she berated herself. “Oh, great job, Levy. You butchered that first impression,” Levy continued until she huffed out a breath. “Sorry about that, I should probably introduce myself,”

Lucy prompted her forward with a quicked brow, not suspicious but she'd noticed her vulnerability to the strangers that gathered behind her. 

“I’m Levy McGarden, it’s nice to meet you,”

Lucy took her extended hand with vigor. “I’m Lucy,” she offered. “I’ve heard a lot about you,”

She was happy that it was another familiar face, even if she’d never met Levy, Lisanna had told her all she could have hoped for.

“As have I, you’re big talk around here.” Levy understood Lucy’s confusion. “Mira can be a bit of a gossip so practically the entire guild has heard about the incident.”

“Oh, that’s not nerve-racking at all.” She knew that word would get around, but being the new girl was something that Lucy had never experienced before. She wasn’t supposed to draw attention to herself, but it was inevitable.

Levy chuckled and bumped her shoulder against Lucy’s, something Lucy was starting to recognize as a way to calm her nerves. “Don’t worry about it, you'll be the talk of the town for a few days but everything will mellow out,”

Lucy was used to negative attention and the thought of everyone in Fairy Tail knowing about her right away didn’t ease her racing heart. “I sure hope so,” she said and searched for a topic to switch to. “You’re the famous bookworm, aren’t you?”

“Ah, so you _have_ heard of me as well. I must say, I am befitting of the title,” Levy bowed playfully. “Are you a reader?”

There was childlike excitement in Levy’s eyes, hopefulness that Lucy didn’t exactly understand. “I like to think so, it was one of the on;y things to do growing up. Levy perked and Lucy continued. “Actually, one of my dreams is to because an author-”

“Really! Oh, this is great!” Levy exclaimed and bounced on the barstool. “Have you written anything? I would love to read it,”

Her eyes sparkled and Lucy was a bit taken aback. “Uh, I don’t have much written, I’ve just been writing down some plot stuff, but I don’t have much at the moment.”

Levy waved her away. “No need to worry, I’ll help in any way I can,”

Lucy smiled sheepishly. “Thank you for the offer, I’m just having trouble finding things to write about. I don’t have a very interesting life,”

“Well, it’s a good thing you joined Fairy Tail, every day’s an adventure here. Maybe you’ll find some inspiration on missions.” She suggested. Levy was optimistic, perhaps even more so than Lisanna. Lucy was starting to think it was a trend among the mages of Fairy Tail.

The time got away from them as Levy continued to question Lucy. Lisanna rejoined them and encouraged other guild members to meet her. Macao was particularly interested in Lucy, and soon introduced Romeo who was immediately attached to her. 

He asked her all about Crocus and Lucy struggled a bit to answer but did her best to quench his curiosity. Hours went by and Lucy relaxed, comfortable with the non-demanding environment. 

Celestial Spirit Mages were rare and dangerous, Darton told her. There was a reason he wanted her to stay away from the limelight, but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t know anything about her past or why Celestial Mages were considered unsafe. 

It was simple, if she needed to know, Darton would have told her. But that didn’t stop Lucy from noticing the shopkeeper recoil when she summoned Plue, or how Macao was hesitant to let Romeo around her. She wanted to know why so many people mistrusted her.

“Wow, it’s really that late? I hadn’t even noticed,” Levy said. 

Mira was prompting the last remaining members out of the guildhall, the sun had gone down and she was getting ready to close. 

“Sorry about that, Mira,” Cana yawned. “We’ll get out of your way.”

Mira giggled and wiped down their table. “It’s no problem ladies, I just have to finish up here before we can head to Fairy Hills,”

“Fairy Hills?” Lucy asked.

Levy perked up. “Fairy Hills is where us girls live, it’s just down the road from here.”

“Before you ask, it’s not free,” Cana said and finished her drink, setting it on Mira’s tray as she walked by. “Or cheap for that matter,”

Lisanna snorted awake as Mira grabbed a plate in front of her. She rubbed her eyes and looked around humming, still half asleep. “What is time?”

“Well, from a human’s perspective, it’s a construct to help us keep track of ourselves, activities, among other things, usually based on the whereabouts of the sun or the sequential atmosphere of accountability,” Levy said with her nose between the pages of a book. “But it is also a universal construct-” 

“Ten minutes to midnight, Lis.” Cana interrupted. 

Levy rolled her eyes. “That too, I guess.”

Lucy couldn’t help the laugh that tumbled out of her. It had been a long day, scratch that, it had been a long week, but she didn’t regret a moment of it. It was nice to have a break from training, the Fairy Tail was surprisingly relaxing contrary to Lisanna’s stories of mayhem. 

Snoring tore through the light atmosphere, and Cana didn’t suppress her laugh like the other girls did, much to Lucy’s amusement. Each person she’d met was quite theatrical in their own way, Lucy realized. Even though Lisanna and Yukino were similar to one another there were differences that set the two silver heads apart. But on the contrary, Mira and Sorano couldn’t have been more opposite, something that Lucy was thankful for. 

Not long later, Mira shuffled the girls out of the guildhall and into the breezy night air. If Lisanna hadn’t been awake, the frigid cold that promised a snowy winter woke her up. They all chuckled at the girl’s struggle as Mira locked up. 

“Here Lucy, it’s my fourth favorite book,” Levy passed a rather thick book to her, and Lucy flipped it in her hand to read the back. “It’s about a princess and a dragon,” Lucy smiled in anticipation and Levy shrugged. “Can’t beat the classics, it’s a really good read, I promise. Just the right amount of cliche.”

Lucy’s heart swelled with the gift, she’d never had a book of her own before. “Thank you, Levy, I’ll have to give it a shot.”

She opened her backpack to put the gift inside but was stopped by an envelope. She grabbed it out, confused, she didn’t remember having a letter. It was heavy and as she opened it she narrowed her eyes at a set of keys with a note. 

_104 Strawberry Street_ was all it read. 

“Do you need somewhere to say, Lucy? We have a spare bedroom if you’d like to stay with us,” Mira offered. 

Lucy weighed her options. Stay with her new friends or go to a mysterious address that likely had to do with her mission. She wished she could agree to stay with the two but decided to follow the instructions on the letter. 

“Thank you for the offer, but I think I already have somewhere to stay.” She would have to be dumb not to catch the slightly suspicious glances. “I totally forgot that I have relatives in Magnolia. My father gave me information on my aunt’s apartment here so I think I’ll go and bother her instead of the rest of you.”

Lisanna looked out at the semi-dark streets, the bright moon illuminating the path back into the heart of Magnolia. “Are you sure, it can be dangerous at night and you don't know the city,”

“Please, you know I can handle myself, Lis,” Lucy waved her off even though her anxiety spiked at the thought of traversing Magnolia alone at night. 

Cana was shockingly upright as she slung an arm around Lucy in a side hug. “She makes a good point,” she said lazily with a yawn before surrendering to the hard glares of the Strauss sisters. “Or I can walk her home?”

She laughed lightly as Levy offered her help as well, heart soaring with the kindness of the girls. 

“Really, I’ll be alright, you don’t have to worry about me,” Lucy assured. 

Mira frowned but nodded. “If you’re sure, Magnolia can be a bit of a maze sometimes.”

Lucy reassured them that she would be fine and eventually, the four women agreed to let her travel on her own to the mystery apartment. 

“Well, we’ll see you tomorrow, then!” Lisanna said and gave Lucy a hug as the Cana and Levy girls shouted their goodbyes. Mira gave her a hug as well and Lucy was left alone in front of the guild. 

She looked out into the empty streets of Magnolia. 

“You got this, Lisanna showed you Strawberry Street on the way.” She said to herself and began walking. “Oh, I hope it’s that cute apartment building.”

When she knew she was alone Lucy summoned Aries to keep her company. The stars were brilliant that night, but Lucy could have sworn she saw them ominously blink back at her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello, hello, my favorite peoples!  
> I hope each and every one of you have been doing well since my update on the 15th, for those from the future, I had to update a teensy bit late, but I digress.  
> But! I come bearing this week’s chapter under my arm, and am ready for battle! Gasp! What did you think? How did you feel? Was it what you were expecting, or no? I know what you all must be thinking, where’s Natsu??  
> He will show up in a fashion closer to the plot from the first iteration of TINT, but a bit differently. I’m hoping for a supercharged first meeting, and I know that it will be a show stopper!  
> Gosh, have I mentioned how much I love Cana? Because I love me some Cana. She will be a more regular side character than before, and I’m sooo excited about it! But also, YES, Lucy is now a full-fledged Fairy Tail wizard, and it was almost underwhelming for her, which is probably a good thing. XD  
> I must say though, the fun has just started!  
> And for the best part, reader appreciation!  
> Erin, as always, thank you for being so kind and understanding, it really does mean a lot to me! I totally get having a very busy major, Criminal Justice just had to be the path I chose for myself! I swear, there’s more traffic in my classes than New York City at noon! I hope that you are staying safe wherever you are out there, the world is a crazy place at the moment!  
> Amber! If that’s even your real name -_-... You are SUCH a doll! And so kind to me, I don’t deserve it! I do feel that I owe everyone that is coming along for the ride a consistent schedule, but maybe that’s because I failed so hard on my last time writing on a public website. Readers like you are the ones that make me want to keep updating, giving you the twists and reveals of TINT. Sincerely, thank you for always encouraging me, I really appreciate it! Whenever I see one of your comments, I tear up the slightest bit, you’re the best. :)  
> LordJaric, as always, thank you peach! I have come to value your opinion on TINT as it progresses, and it always makes me smile to see your comments. :)  
> FairyFan! I’m a diehard NaLu shipper as well, I couldn’t see anyone else being able to tolerate Natsu with all his ridiculousness! Thank you for all the lovely things you have to say! I’m really glad you are liking TINT so far!  
> Nonartisticbooknerd, I’m happy that I’ve caught your attention so far! I promise that I won’t disappoint! I do apologize for the delay on this chapter, thankfully, I’ve finally done it, and the thing is finished! I hope you enjoyed!  
> Anyways! That is all that I have for now! This update does not change anything, I will still be updating on the 15th and the 30th (as consistently as I can)! Hopefully, you’re all staying safe and looking out for yourselves!  
> Love yah!


	6. A Quiet Home

Magnolia at night was much more lively than Lucy had expected. The streets were filled with drunks or celebratory groups of college students. Lucy had always dreamed about attending college, it was her greatest aspiration towards getting to the surface. But Levy said that they wouldn’t satiate Lucy’s interests. She was too smart for school, Lucy didn’t necessarily agree, but Levy knew more about those sorts of things than she did. 

She dodged a happy-go-lucky drunk again, the woman’s fingers reaching out for Lucy’s arm, desperate for something Lucy didn’t want to give. She had had fun, much more fun than she ever had underground, but she was also exhausted. 

People had constantly asked her questions, barged into her space, and danced and shouted around her. It was an interesting atmosphere she’d never experienced before, and something she hoped she could get accustomed to. It would be tricky, especially with so many people watching her every move, but she could get used to the excitable guild. 

Every once in a while a group of people would get too close and panic would arise in Lucy’s throat at the idea of another attack happening, but nothing ever came of it.

Lucy kept her head down as she walked, dodging around people or sad individuals as they walked alone. She likely looked like one as well, especially since Lucy was a little wobbly on her feet after such a long day. 

Street corners past her by, occasionally Lucy would ask for directions to Strawberry Street from someone that seemed sober enough to keep to themselves. Though, Lucy wasn’t really all that worried about the nonthreatening, drunk individuals. Most people she asked were helpful and pointed her in the right direction. 

Apartments passed as Lucy traveled down the canal. She hopped on the lip of the street, which she assumed was to discourage people from jumping into it from the street above. Sometime later, after becoming sufficiently lost more than once, Lucy spotted her destination. 

Strawberry Street was densely packed with buildings, some cute and endearing, others confused Lucy with their obtuse construction. 

Her mocha eyes searched the numbers on the buildings, and she bit her lip in excitement at the orange-tinted building that came into view. And Lucy skipped along the canal until she was right in front of it. 

“This is it,” she murmured, looking between the note’s address and the apartments. “Now what do I do…”

Lucy didn’t necessarily understand the customs of the outside world, so she assumed the proper way to enter was to knock. And she did just that.

The door swung open almost immediately like someone had been waiting. Lucy was taken aback at the short woman that stood before her. She was stout, with a unique frown on her face, her clothes were a bit on the tighter side and Lucy wondered how she could breathe with a shirt hugging her every curve. 

“Well!” She said, impatiently and motioned for Lucy to enter. “Are you going to come in or not!”

Lucy followed the coaxing and hurried through the doorway. The lobby was quaint, nicely decorated with colors that complimented the outside of the apartments. Blues were highlighted in paintings, flower pots, and strands of the carpet, integrating the area with a cool and welcoming feel. In contrast, though, the landlady examined Lucy with unwavering eyes. 

Her magenta dress wasn’t the most flattering, but Lucy found herself envious of the woman’s confidence. She muttered things under her breath and moved from the entryway to circle Lucy like a shark. 

The intimidating feeling was not new to the blonde, if anything, she felt comfortable under the scrutinizing gaze. People were always watching her, but when she was alone there was something missing. 

“Thankfully you are not as horrendously ugly as my last tenant.”

Lucy’s jaw fell open as she gaped at the woman. A retort grew on her tongue but the woman continued. 

“There is a lot to be done,” she squinted at Lucy’s face. “The shoes will have to change, and the clothes are a disaster.” She began to walk down the hall and gestured for Lucy to follow. “The side pony can stay because that’s about all that you have going for you.”

A bubble of anxiety chewed away at her self confidence. She had been called ugly and harassed hundreds of times in her life, but the world was much kinder than the Underground. She had yet to meet someone that treated her like a mindless object and not a person. But, her landlord appeared to be that very person. 

If she was connected to the experiment in some way, Lucy wouldn’t be surprised. Darton had said that there would be people watching Lucy’s every move, resources may be sparse but people are not. 

The woman marched proudly, deeper into the building, passing unlabeled doors and mid hall sitting areas before she motioned for Lucy to proceed up the stairs. 

“Do you still have the keys?” She said with an edge to her voice. Lucy nodded and fumbled with the envelope for a moment before producing a ring set of keys. “Good, your apartment is the first door on the left. You have neighbors to your right and above you, so be quiet.” She snapped and turned, leaving Lucy alone to climb the stairs. 

She was awestruck at the interaction, her landlady was a real character. Lucy was used to abuse, but insults to her appearance would need some getting used to. Her gut ached from the awful meeting, but she ignored her sickness in lieu of climbing the stairs to her mystery home. 

Curiosity did its incredible job of taking over Lucy’s mind, her fast decreasing personal esteem a faraway thought as she opened the door leading to her floor. The hall was empty and not well lit, but Lucy could make out a skinny rug that ran the length of the long corridor. Oak doors mirrored themselves twice along the walls, and in between a small cubby with a loveseat and few magazines. 

“First door on the left,” Lucy mumbled as she approached her door and looked through the keys on her ring. It took her a moment, but eventually she got the door open and was met by a semi dark room. 

The area opened in a stout foyer, the dark oat door complimented by cream walls. As Lucy made her way in she spotted a set of light switches which she flicked on. The lacroma on the ceiling flickered and revealed the living area. 

Lucy stumbled back into the small tree at the edge of her room, the furnished bedroom and living room an incredible sight. She had never had a place to call home, not one that she remembered at least, but the homey atmosphere and the open aesthetic had her heart jumping with joy. 

With a determined glance Lucy ran to the bed and plopped herself down on it with an exhilarated sigh. “Wow, and I thought the hotel’s bed was comfortable!” She said with a stretch. 

Genuine relaxation was never tolerated where she came from, but Lucy could see herself snuggling under the pink comforter on the bed to dive into an enthralling book. With a giggle of joy, she sat herself up and examined the rest of the room. 

In front of her bed was a sitting area she was excited to use, but her favorite part was the bookcases that covered the wall, floor to ceiling. She jumped to her feet and crossed the space quickly, running her fingers along the spines of the novels. 

She continued through the place and stopped at the writing desk, at the foot of the bed. Above it and the bed both, were massive windows that let in the moonlight. Lucy leaned over the desk surface and through open the windows, enjoying the chill of the summer weather. 

Lucy relished in the freedom that swelled in her stomach. Independence was better than she could have dreamed, it seemed as though all the troubles of her life led up to the fun she’d been having since she left Darton’s imprisonment. Lucy thought it felt almost worth it, the pain and the abuse, but she dared not to speak that out loud. 

The charms on the end of the curtain leading into the apartment’s kitchen chimed softly as Lucy moved through them. She was fearful on the other side there were guards ready to take her back to her personal hell, but she was only met by a kitchen. To her right was a stove, sink, and refrigerator. Cabinets filled in the empty wall space around the room, and Lucy was delighted to see them stocked when she opened one curiously. 

Across from the kitchen was a set of double doors, leading to the streets below. Curtains were half drawn over them but Lucy could still see the street and canal from her vantage point. A table sat outside the doors, and flowers hung from nets, draping down to frame the view. 

With a happy nod, Lucy continued to her last room, hidden behind a single door that matched her front. She squeaked it open and excitement flooded her. A bathroom, with a bathtub! She had never taken one, or so she remembered, but Lisanna had talked about them like they were heavenly, and what Lucy had read about them backed it up. 

Lucy skipped happily back to the main room to find a book to read to take into her bath with her, but she stopped when she noticed an elegant envelope on the floor in front of the kitchen doorway. She looked to the open window before bending to pick it up. 

An elaborate “ _ D _ ” was the other defining feature as she opened it up. Two notes on expensive paper greeted her, and she flipped open the card to read it’s contents. 

_ Four, _

_ We understand that the circumstances of your living are much different than you are used to _ , _ but rest assured that the apartment and your freedom are contingent on your success.  _

_ One letter a month is the required allotment, it shall describe your whereabouts and Fairy Tail’s personal information, as well as anything that pertains to the safety of Magnolia and Fiore.  _

_ We need not remind you of the punishment for your failure and are sure that you will not break any of the rules set in place. For your sake, we have entrusted a secondary copy of the rules within this letter. _

  * _Do not reveal yourself to anyone other than a people confirmed by the Royal Seal._


  * Provide needed information in the form of a letter once a month, drop the letter on a bench in Fitch Park at noon on the 15th. 


  * Do not form any emotional bonds with anyone, learn and extract, do not make friends. 


  * Do not attempt to find Two or Three. We will know, and you will all be punished.



_ More in-depth instructions will be found in proceeding letters. Until then, _

_ D. _

Lucy wasn’t surprised. She had expected the landlady to say something about the experiment and the rules once she “settled” in Magnolia, but a letter from Darton certainly seemed to do the trick. 

Anxiety bloomed like a toxic flower low in her stomach as the pressure set in once again. She took a few deep breath that did little to calm her but moved onto the second paper. The paper was softer than Darton’s, as if in contrast to the short man’s.

It was labeled with a “ _ T _ ” and Lucy quelled her nerves before opening it to read. 

_ Lucy, _

_ If you are reading this it is because you have made it to your new home! I had my own maids design the space to be comfortable and cozy, without being cramped. I hope it is to your liking.  _

_ Your allowance can be found in the upper right drawer of your dresser, and I made sure to stock your clothing and cabinets.  _

_ I understand that we did not get much time to speak, but I must say, I appreciate what you are doing, even if you had little choice in the matter, but I do none the less. Your freedom comes with a price, a price I believe no one should have to pay, but I have no other effective means of protecting Fiore without you and the help of Yukino and Sorano.  _

_ As long as you complete Darton’s requirements, you will have the opportunity to sprout like a flower and bloom into a normal life. With all hope, in five years, Alvarez won’t have attacked and you will be given your unequivocal freedom.  _

_ But until then, I will look out for you and your sisters silently, as best I can. Please stay safe, and do not try to find either of them, it could lead to your downfall.  _

_ With respect,  _

_ Toma. _

It was overwhelming the contrast between the two letters. One very obviously a threat and the other almost comforting, almost. Lucy didn’t completely trust Toma like she did Darton. She knew how Darton worked, his tricks and manipulative tactics, but the king seemed to be truly looking out for her and her sisters. 

It was odd and suspicious. The easiest thing to believe was that Toma was the kinder in the scenario, the one that consoled the girls and looked out for them. Lucy was pretty sure that was called the “good cop” act, but she didn’t totally understand what that meant. 

“If only Yukino were here, she was always so good at judging situations, and Sorano knew what people were thinking just by the look on their face.” Lucy murmured as she put the second card back in its slip. Emotions overwhelmed her at the conflict in interest. 

On one hand, Lucy wanted to do nothing else but search for the two, but she knew she couldn’t. With Darton watching over her so carefully, he would know Lucy’s intention before she stepped out her front door. 

But on the other- she knew other hardship could come from looking for Yukino and Sorano. Darton had made it clear that they were to be the ones punished if Lucy were to slip up, and they didn’t deserve the pain simply because of Lucy’s homesickness. 

Tears pricked her eyes as she thought about the lives they were living, how much fun they could be having without her, possibly together. Lucy had no right to take that away from them, even if she wanted to be a part of their new lives more than anything else. 

She couldn’t bring herself to destroy the little freedom they had as well, beds to sleep on, hot water to bathe in, endless books to read, she had no right. They didn’t deserve her heart ached actions. 

Lucy rubbed the tear tracks on her cheeks, willing away the self-doubt and the worthlessness that rose in her throat. Yukino and Sorano deserved to be happy, even if it was a thousand miles away from Lucy, they deserved it more than she did. 

She refused to dwell on the question of if they wanted to look for her as she closed the window. The cool breeze of the wind ceasing as she made her way over to the dresser. 

Toma seemed to be looking out for her and her sister, but it could just be another tactic of Darton’s to help keep them in line. There were plenty of reasons why she shouldn’t trust him, and yet, something told her that he wasn’t really associated with how she was treated during her childhood into her teenage years. 

Lucy sniffed to rid herself of the last remnants of tears and opened her drawers. There was a lot of blue in her wardrobe it seemed, but she didn’t have a problem with it. Blue and white were what she was accustomed to. 

“Everything is so…” She grabbed a cropped t-shirt and held it up to her chest. “Short. But cute, I think Lisanna would like this top,” Lucy fumbled through her top drawers, scheming outfits to wear in the future. 

She had forgotten the importance of her dresser just before her fingers skimmed a small booklet. It revealed itself to be the money that Toma had promised would be there and Lucy set it back as she grabbed a pair of soft shorts and a tank top, both affronting colors of blue but she didn’t really care. 

Lucy once again skimmed the walls of books before a thought dawned on her. Her freedom was more important than herself, yes, Fiore may be counting on her but Lucy was more worried about her own subjects. 

After a calming breath and a shower of glittering gold, Gemini appeared before her, dancing while both smiling and frowning. 

Gemini was her shortest contract, but her heart still wrenched at their forced partnership. 

“Hello, Miss Lucy,” They said in perfect unison. 

Lucy smiled at them and gave each a pat on the head. “Good evening, Gemi, Mini,”

They bowed at their respective names and fixed their gazes back on Lucy before she had a chance to start. 

“What have you called us here for, miss Lucy?” Mini asked, cheerful as always. 

Lucy sighed and rolled over her options. Her hands fiddled under the expectant gazes of her Spirits. “I just have one question for you,”

Gemi cocked his head but said nothing, something his sister didn’t imitate. “What is it?”

With an indignant huff, Lucy straightened to face them with all her conviction. “Would you like to end our contract?”

  
  


Lucy was exhausted, and by the time she left for the guild two days had gone by. 

They had been excruciatingly long, but Lucy had committed to something, and so she had seen it through. Summoning each one of her Spirits had been an easy task at first, but it soon devolved into a battle of Magic versus time. 

Lisanna had somehow gotten her address from Mira, which Lucy was still curious about, and had asked her to eat breakfast with Cana and Levy that morning. Lucy had agreed excitedly, but she was beginning to regret her earlier eagerness. 

Fairy Tail’s Guild Hall was not far from Lucy’s apartment, she guessed Toma did that on purpose to make life easier for her. She slowly found the small and convenient things the King did to prove his trustability, and Lucy had grown fond of finding the little quirk his design team had left behind for her. 

Now Lucy was leisurely walking to the guild. The warm breeze was a nice contrast to the summer heat. Her bare legs were covered in goosebumps by another bout of wind and Lucy felt the need to secure her small, pleated skirt from exposing her. She had quickly found the downside to cute clothes, and it came with a damning price. Cute versus comfortable was a battle she had waged over her wardrobe, one that she was not sure how to win. 

As the guild came into view anxiety had her chewing her lip. She hadn’t seen anyone in a few days and there was a world of possibilities to account for what could happen once she stepped foot inside the building. 

Its large structure was magnificently intimidating as she stopped in front of the guild. Lisanna said she had a few chores to do and that Cana and Levy would be arriving later in the morning so Lucy prayed that Levy was there, at the least. 

Levy was comfortable to talk with, and considering all of Lucy’s recent free time at home recharging, she had a lot of time to read the book she’d given her. It was fascinating and entrancing, part of the reason why Lucy didn’t come to the guild, she couldn’t put it down for more than an hour. With her unruly schedule, it was hard conforming to a normal sleep schedule with so many things on her mind. 

“Well, no time like the present as Darton would say,” 

Fairy Tail was much quieter Lucy realized immediately. It shocked her how without a few core members the dynamic of the guildhall wasn’t completely out of control. 

Lucy’s building anxiety vanished as Lisanna waved her over to a table with the other two. 

“Lucy, good morning, you look so cute today!” Lisanna said excitedly. “I’m glad you went with the skirt, it suits you,” she winked. 

Cana threw a sidelong grin at her. “Yeah, it’s good to see you again, Lu.” Her voice was lazy, and Lucy knew she was already drinking as she sat down across from the brunette. Cana waved a hand between Levy’s face and the book she had plunged herself into. “Lev, get your nose outta the pages, Lucy’s here.”

Levy didn’t even take her eyes off the inked words as she greeted the blonde. “Mornin’ Lu, gimme a minute to finish this chapter then you will have my undivided attention.”

Lucy hummed in acknowledgment and Lisanna turned to her. “How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun, I haven’t seen you in what feels like forever!”

“Nothing all that fun, I had some stuff with the landlord to figure out about my apartment and some contracts to renew.” She said, posing nonchalantly as she sipped the water Cana put in front of her. 

“Lisanna was telling us about your little home, sounds like a fun place to party,” Cana said, which seemed to snap Levy out of whatever trance she was under and slam her tome shut. 

She gasped. “Oh, I know! We should totally have a slumber party! Lis said you have a bunch of bookshelves, I would love to sneak a peek!”

Cana grumbled into her drink “Yeah, of course, that’s what you’re excited about.”

Lucy looked to Lisanna as she giggled, the blue mage assuming the brunette in a heated conversation about the importance of a good education and dedicating time to fine arts like reading and drawing. 

“A slumber party sounds like fun if you're up for it?”

The blonde wracked her brain for an answer to the question, keeping her confusion to herself. Eventually, the two arguing women turned to her to see her answer and Lucy had no choice but to ask. 

“Uhm, what’s a slumber party?” 

She knew she’d made a mistake immediately as the three recoiled from her, it was more emotion than Lucy had ever seen from Cana, her normally grinning features decorated by concerned shock. 

“You’ve never heard of a slumber party? Like a sleepover? Have you been living under a rock your whole life?”

Lucy bit her tongue to stop herself from answering literally, something she found herself having to do often. Technically she  _ had  _ lived under a rock for a while, a really big rock that held up Fiore’s most prestigious building, the Castle of Light. 

“I don’t think so,” she shook her head to emphasize, confusion leaking into her tone. 

Levy took her opportunity to investigate next. “What do you mean you’ve never had a slumber party! You’ve got to be kidding me!”

Lucy’s confidence in her innocent act started to shrivel as the questions continued. Having to play along with an entirely new life and become a new person was harder than she’d been anticipating. 

“It’s the thing we did Lucy, at the hotel.” Lisanna interrupted as if she sensed Lucy’s internal struggle. “You know, stay up all night telling stories, watching movies, eating junk food. All the fun stuff, remember?”

Always to her rescue, Lucy nodded. She hadn’t spent a lot of time with Cana or Levy but she did like both of them. They weren’t kind like Lisanna, but Cana was funny and Levy, thoughtful. 

They accepted Lucy before even knowing her, treated her like family the moment she walked through the guild’s doors. 

“Yes, of course, I remember! How could I forget, it’s the most fun I’ve had in years. I would love to do more!” She said but cowered away for a moment. “But, I don’t think my landlady would like that, she’s very…” Lucy tried to put it as nice as possible. “Particular.”

Cana hummed and took another sip of a dark liquid that Lucy couldn’t identify. “You live on Strawberry Street, right? I think Lis mentioned that it’s that cute apartment building with the orange bricks, if so, I know exactly what you’re talking about. I had a drinking buddy that lived there last year, let’s just say things didn’t end too nicely with the owner lady after he started bringing chicks around.”

“I’ll have to keep that in mind,” Lucy said and jumped as Mira set another glass of water down in front of her. 

She smiled sweetly. “Oh, sorry Lucy! I didn’t mean to startle you,”

“It’s fine, I just didn’t hear you is all,” Lucy wondered how Mira could be so quiet in a pair of high heels and a floor-length dress. “How is your morning going, Mira?” 

“It’s pretty busy today, it always gets this way on the weekends. People coming and going to and from jobs, speaking of which,” Mira turned her attention quickly to her younger sister. “Weren’t you planning on going on a job today?”

Lisanna lit up like a light lacroma at the question. “Yes, I was! Gosh, I meant to ask this morning but it slipped my mind, Lu, wanna go on another job with me?”

Lucy hadn’t realized that being a part of a guild would mean gaining income from going on jobs every so often, but it seemed like fun, and a good way to explore Fiore. She didn’t know much about the guild system, but she did know that without a certified guild a lot of the “jobs” presented to the public were unavailable for mages. 

She was lucky that Yajima didn’t care about guild affiliations when it came to short term jobs, but she was even luckier for her instant connection to Lisanna. 

“Of course!” She responded with excitement, much to Lisanna glee. “What kind of job are you thinking of taking?”

“I’m not sure just yet, you said that there are new requests coming in, right Mira?” 

Mira nodded and gestured to the full request board. “There was a large shipment of unfilled requests that expired at other guilds. I heard some of them are fairly dangerous from Nab,”

Cana snorted. “What would Nab know about that, he doesn’t take jobs.”

“Yes, but he does read job requests all day, maybe he could give a suggestion?” Levy said with her nose peeking over the cover of her opened book. 

“I do believe he actually went on a job earlier with Vijeeter, so he will not be of any help anytime soon,” Mira said and swiped a table near the girls. 

“Wait, he went on a job! Why?” Cana asked, clearly surprised. 

Mira shrugged and approached their table again. “From what I heard, his landlord was threatening to kick him out because he wasn’t taking good enough care of his home.”

“Weird,” Lisanna whispered as the other three continued to gossip about their fellow guildmate. Lucy worried that she could have been the subject of Mira’s gossip over the last few days, but she was pulled from her thoughts as Lisanna spoke again. 

“Let’s go look at the job board and see if anything springs out at us. We’re early enough, so hopefully, all the good jobs won’t be taken yet.”

Lucy agreed and the two scooted their way out of the booth’s bench and walked leisurely through the guildhall. It was calm, but still had the rumble of chaos that Lisanna assured Lucy would get used to. 

The guildhall was by no means small. It seemed even bigger from the inside, with massive vaulted ceilings and hanging chandeliers that Lucy was sure had been broken on many occasions. 

They weaved their way through occupied tables and Lisanna waved and greeted everyone as she passed. Lucy was almost jealous of the attention, but soon after Lisanna moved past, curious eyes would fall on Lucy as she walked by. 

“Here we are!” Lisanna said and investigated the job listings. There were a few others, but they moved for the pair of women as they approached. 

Lisanna hummed and Lucy scoured over the dozens of request posters. Jobs for fighting giant monsters, or finding missing pets, escorting nobility, and more. All of them were decorated with fancy numbers. The jobs ranged from high amounts of jewel to the lesser, and Lucy could see that with higher-paying amounts came more risk. 

The silver head sang a soft tune to herself, skimming the listings aimlessly. “Find anything interesting?”

Lucy opened her mouth to say no as a job caught her eye. She plucked it off the wall and straightened, reading it once over again. 

“Actually, yeah. This looks like it could be fun, big reward too,”

“Oh really? Lemme see,” Lucy handed the slightly withered paper to Lisanna and she read over it quickly. She flipped it over, looking dissatisfied with the lack of print on the back. “That can’t be it? This seems so simple,” 

Lucy grabbed the tac to replace it. “We don’t have to do it if you don’t want to,”

Lisanna shook her head and smiled at Lucy. “It’s not that, it just looks so easy,”

“Is that a bad thing?” She asked as Lisanna handed it back to her to read over again. Lisanna shook her head and replaced the tac, deciding for the two that they were going to take it. 

“No, it’s not really a bad thing, it’s just a little odd. Simply transporting a magical relic from here to Hargeon doesn’t seem like that much of a challenge. But then again, I’m not going to complain.”

Lucy followed Lisanna to the bar on one side of the guild, which Mira had returned to. As she finished stacking the cups and wiped off the water on her clean apron. 

“Find something you like?” She asked as Lucy slid the request over the wooden surface to her. 

“Yeah,” Lisanna said and took a seat at a barstool. “It seems like a good start to get Lucy in the groove of things.”

Mira did the same thing Lisanna had, Lucy noticed comically, flipping the paper over to examine the back for more information. “I see, sounds good to me. Lucy dear, would you like something to eat? I forgot to take your order earlier,”

“It’s really okay, Mira, I’m not too hungry.”

The woman squinted at Lucy for a moment, her gaze surprisingly unsettling as she examined the blonde. “Hm, how about I surprise you with something?” 

Lucy raised an eyebrow and glanced through the window to the kitchen, seeing a small group of people working away. “If you don’t mind, I don’t want to be a bother.”

Mira waved her off and started writing on an order ticket before pinning it to a line in the window. The small page was grabbed immediately before someone stabbed it through a large pin where many other receipts had been poked. 

“I’ll go ahead and sign this off and let the master know what job you’ll be taking,” Mira said and removed her apron, folding it neatly before she set it down on the bar. 

Lisanna perked up as her sister went to leave. “Oh! Actually, I’ve been wanting to ask the master about my proposal before he leaves, mind if I join you?”

Mira welcomed the company and Lisanna said a quick goodbye and left Lucy to her own devices. The guild felt foreign without Lisanna around to settle out the anxiousness in Lucy’s stomach but she got up and walked back to Levy and Cana. 

Cana welcomed her back, chowing down on a plate of nearly indistinguishable food, much to the dismay of Levy. The girls chatted and Lucy found out about the vicious love triangle that Levy was caught in with her two partners. 

She had come to the conclusion that gossip was a regular aspect of Fairy Tail, rumors and small talk went hand in hand. 

Lisanna and Mira appeared and Mira put a place of food in front of her. Lucy’s mouth watered the moment she smelled the delicious food, the variety of fruit, eggs, bacon, and a smoothie almost too much for her weak stomach. 

“So, I talked to the master and he gave a little insight into our job,” Lisanna said around the piece of bacon she’d stolen from Lucy’s plate. “Apparently caravans of Rune Knights have been attacked in the Hargeon area recently, they’re blaming it on a local dark guild that’s been known to terrorize the area, but they can’t tell for sure. It’s probably to prevent the relic from being stolen,”

Cana took a sip from a flask she produced out of nowhere and asked. “Do you know what the thing that you’re transporting is?”

Lisanna shrugged so Lucy took the reigns of the conversation. “It’s probably some old spellbook, I read the government’s been collecting them since the end of the war.”

“It’s possible,” Levy said, “but it probably isn’t. The spell books that were collected were all guild owned and it looks like you have a personal request, not one from an official wizard clan.”

Lucy had begun to realize just how little she actually knew when Levy decided to speak. The woman was a genius, and even if Lucy didn’t want to acknowledge it, she felt discouraged when she got something about the outside world wrong. 

All her life she’d been training and learning, but there was still so much to do. It weighed heavily on Lucy’s shoulders. The expectations set for her were much too high for her to reach, but she refused to give up. For Sorano and Yukino, and for herself. 

“You’re probably right, I just hope it’s interesting.”

“Me too! We’re going to travel into the hills of Magnolia, which will take a few hours at least. When do you want to leave, Lu?” 

She shrugged and pushed her sunny side up eggs around the plate with her fork. “I don’t really care, whenever you want to is fine with me.”

Lisanna sighed in thought, biting off another piece of bacon before continuing. “Well, from the looks of the paper, it's been passed around through a few guilds, so we shouldn’t keep them waiting. We could leave in a few hours and board a train by the end of today?”

“And get to Hargeon by tomorrow morning?” Lucy asked, and Lisanna nodded in confirmation. “Sounds good to me, I’ll have to go home and pack before we leave.”

She folded the paper and put it in the back pocket of her jeans. “No problem, I should probably do the same. We can meet back here after we’re done and head north?”

“It’s a plan!” Lucy said.

After her short goodbyes to her new friends, Lucy made her way back to her apartment. The walk was quicker now that she knew where she was going, and Magnolia in the light of day was much more welcoming, something Lucy was thankful for. 

Thoughts ran through her mind faster than she could comprehend as she followed the streets that lead to her home. It was her first mission, and she couldn’t decide if she was anxious about it, or if the butterflies that she felt were there from excitement. 

She knew that her first mission would be a turning point, one to prove herself to the rest of the guild. Lisanna may vouch for her, but Lucy would prefer to be her own reason that she’s the talk. 

It was weirdly comforting to look down and see her guild mark. The pink of the mark was bright against her white sleeves. It was permanently cold in the underground, but Lucy didn’t know how to dress when the sun was out. Some days were hotter than others, and when she’d chosen a long-sleeved shirt to pair with her skirt, she hadn’t expected it to be the warmest day out of the year so far. 

“I’ll have to change when I get home,” Lucy mumbled to herself. “I don’t think that hiking in this would be very comfortable.”

After the quick walk, Lucy found herself in front of the apartment building that had confused her a few nights before. It had a different look than the other buildings that lined the block. She hoped her landlady wouldn’t be in as she opened the lobby door. 

It was quiet and Lucy made her way stealthily up the stairs and to her door. She removed her key from the keyring situated on her belt and unlocked her door, walking inside with a sigh. 

Her motivation died every time she entered her apartment. It was so quaint, and all Lucy wanted to do was lay on her cloud-like bed and read a book under an ungodly amount of snuggled blankets. 

She stretched and suppressed a yawn, summoning Plue. He had kept her frequent company while she’d been stuck at home. It was self-isolation for the most part, but Lucy opted to learn during her break. 

With a quick trip to the library, she’d learned much of what was left unsaid when people found out she was a Celestial Spirit Mage. 

Lucy’s mind wandered to Celestial Magic’s place in the Guild War just over a decade ago. Spirit Mages were shunned from a majority of places in Ishgar for their betrayal against the royal knights and the guilds. 

Supposedly they were banished to the sea, and congregated in Alvarez. Lucy didn’t know if she believed the story, but with the information that Darton gave her in preparation of the coming war, it wasn’t a surprise. Though, she knew that there were multiple sides to every story. 

“Maybe I should ask one of the Zodiac,” Lucy said to Plue, he shivered in response. “On second thought, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.” She cringed at the thought of asking Aquarius again, she’d tried to bring it up but it hadn’t gone well for her. 

Her bag was packed and sat by the door as Lucy skipped her way through the apartment in a fresh change of clothes. A tight t-shirt with shorts and tall boots fitting her mission much better. She looked for any last minute things to bring on her trip. 

Lucy glared at Levy’s gift, wanting to bring the large book with her but decided against it, she would need to focus on the job.

It was her first one, and she didn’t intend to disappoint. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my sweet lovelies!  
> How are we doing this fine day? I hope you've all had a good week so far! I know I have had a challenging few days, but what really matters is the new chapter! Yay! Lucy's stepping up the in world! It's a bit of a boring chapter, just to build the atmosphere and provide context for the coming action!  
> Nevertheless, I had fun writing it, and I hope you had fun reading it! It was an absolute blast, and a bit difficult. I've found that the more people you add to a conversation, the more challenging it becomes to write. So many context clues need to be given without it being too blatant, yah know?  
> Well, unforuntaley, because I am so busy, I won't be able to do a recognition/reader appreciation section in this end note, but know- I love and adore absolutely each one of you, and you all really keep me going. This last month has been really hard, but all your kind words and kudos have kept me going. So thank you :)  
> Until next time, stay safe and sound!


	7. Life Update

Hey, everybody. You all know I’m gonna really hate to do this, but I have some bad news. 

A major fire tore through my area a few days ago, I live in Southern Oregon, and my family home burned down last week. 

Unfortunately, my computer went with it, and until I have access to another device, I won’t be able to upload any new chapters. I'm really sorry for it. 

I am so thankful for all the kind, beautiful words of each one of you. I really, truly, appreciate it. I’ve been trying to write on my phone, but my inspiration has been bogged down by all the smoke. Thankfully, the fires are under control, and my family is safe, but things could be better. 

Thank you all so much, for everything, but TINT is on a (hopefully) short hiatus. I know this is very sudden and upsetting, but I need to take some time to recuperate from the things happening in my personal life. 

With any luck, I’ll be able to start updating again in November, maybe even earlier. Though I don’t want to put a date to it, I know I’ve already disappointed you, and I don’t want to make promises that I can’t deliver on. The chapter I’m working on now is not my best work, but I’m trying. I don’t want to put out something that I’m not content with and I know how much TINT means to some of you. I refuse to sour your opinion on it because of things happening around me. 

I’ll try to find a way to respond to everyone’s comments on the last chapter, I really miss talking with you guys and hearing your feedback. It’s a hard time in my life though, depression’s been a really strong opponent for me throughout this experience. But I’m trying to remain positive. A lot of people have it much, much worse than my family and I do, and I’m so thankful for God getting me this far and for all the support that TINT has gotten. It's actually my birthday tomorrow, how shitty is that? It's fine, I'm just happy that we have a place to stay for a while.

It has been a pleasure, my lovelies, but this is goodbye for a little while. I’ll keep you all updated, or try to in the coming months. I love each of my friends that I have accumulated during this journey- looking at you, LordJaric (By the way, I would be so incredibly honored if you made a TV Tropes page for TINT! Thank you for asking), Erin, Amber, and everyone else that has taken the time to read my little story, I love you all so much. <3


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